Situations
by WHOA laicey
Summary: Troy has two best friends. They both like Troy, but they don't like each other. Looks like Troy's in the middle, what happens when they force him to choose between them? Troypay/Troyella
1. Chapter 1

_Welcome to my first chapter of my first fanfic ;) I'm excited! *jumps up & down* :D Okay so, if you noticed, I didn't put down any main characters. I didn't know which ones to put, since there are three, but you're only allowed to have two. (Darn Fanfiction, for not letting me put three main characters!) So yeah, the main characters are __**Troy, Gabriella & Sharpay**__. I'm not sure, if any other characters will be in the story much. But I'll try my best to fit them in :) _

_**Disclaimer: **__No, I don't own High School Musical. If I did, I would be using Corbin Bleu's hair as a pillow every night ;D_

* * *

Troy parked his truck in a diner's parking lot. He was supposed to be meeting his mom at Barnes & Noble soon. Right now, he was trying to kill time, until then.

He got out of the car and headed towards the diner. When he got inside, he went up to the counter and ordered a root beer.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a pretty brunette girl, looking at him. She shyly smiled at him, when she realized she had been caught.

Troy, still a bit confused as to why this girl was staring at him, smiled back.

The girl's smile widened as she saw his smile. _Eeep! He's cute!_, she thought to herself. She got up from where she was sitting and walked over to where Troy was. His attention was now turned to his soda, which had just been placed in front of him, but she was about to change that.

"Hi! I'm Gabriella.", she squealed as soon as she got right behind Troy.

Troy, startled by her outburst, spilled his soda. "Damn it.", he cursed the root beer, that was now all over the floor.

Gabriella eyes widened at the spilled soda, then grabbed as many napkins as she could & started cleaning like mad. All the while, muttering "I'm sorry" over and over to Troy, who just stood there watching her wipe up the floor.

When Gabriella finished, she threw away all the napkins. Then she turned to Troy, and once again, said, "I'm sorry."

"It's all right. I wasn't _that_ thirsty," Troy said with a goofy smile.

Gabriella giggled. "Well, I'm still sorry."

"Gosh. You have to stop apologizing!" Troy laughed.

"Oh. I'm sor–". Troy gave her a look, and she stopped herself. "Okay, so maybe, I'm **not** sorry."

Troy nodded. "You learn quickly".

Gabriella nodded as well, "Yup". After a brief silence, that seemed to last forever in Gabriella's mind, Troy spoke

"Well, I don't think I've probably introduced myself. I'm Troy." he said, holding out his hand.

Gabriella shook his hand, "Gabriella." She smiled sweetly.

"Yeah, I know. You kinda mentioned that, you know, before the whole root beer thing.." Troy said, while nervously scratching the back of his neck.

"Oh. Right.", Gabriella had tried to block that out. "I'm still so–".

"Sorry?", Troy interrupted her and finished her sentence. "Yeah, I know. You've said that, at least, a trillion times."

"A trillion and one, I think.", she said with a giggle.

Troy laughed and looked at his watch. "Oh shit.", he whispered to himself.

Gabriella's smile faded, "What's wrong?".

"I have to be somewhere.." Troy replied. Gabriella nodded, sadly. Then he continued, "Can I see your phone?".

Gabriella seemed a bit confused by his question, but still she reached in her pocket & pulled out her phone. "Here," she said, handing him her phone.

Troy took her phone and started putting his number in, but not before handing Gabriella his phone.

Gabriella stared at his phone, which was now in her hand. _Is this his way of saying he wants my number?_, she wondered. She looked up at Troy, who was currently taking a picture of himself, with her cell phone. She looked back down at his phone, quickly typed in her number & saving it under _'Gabriella'_.

* * *

_Gah! That was terrible, wasn't it? Especially, the ending. It was just so __**blah**__. :/ Anyway, I still want reviews :) Even if it is, just telling me what a terrible writer I am._

_Oh, and by the way, this chapter is just a prologue. Troy and Gabriella just met, so they're obviously aren't best friends yet. After this, I'll just skip to when they are best friends already. Well, actually, the next chapter I post will still be part of the prologue. If you remember, I mentioned in the summary that Troy has __**two**__ best friends. So, can anyone guess what happens in the next chapter?! Well, it's pretty obvious, but I'm gonna give a hint: it starts with letter __**S**__ & rhymes with…__**Bar Pay**__..? Yeah, I have no idea what bar pay is, I just made it up. LOL :)_

_And sorry, about any grammatical or punctuation errors :]_


	2. Chapter 2

_Woo! It's time for chapter two! Or as I like to call it, "Prologue: Part Dos" :D Yeah, that's what I saved it under after I typed it on Microsoft Word Processor. :] _

_And no reviews for the first chapter? What is wrong with you people? :P At least, I have 2 people put me on story alert, that really means A LOT (:_

_**Disclaimer: **__Nope, I don't own High School Musical. But if I did...wouldn't that be something?_

_

* * *

_

Troy was in the parking lot, at Barnes & Noble. He was supposed to be meeting his mom there. Which is why, he had to leave Gabriella, so quickly.

_Gabriella_. He smiled to himself at the thought of her.

He liked her already. Even though, he had only met her, less than 10 minutes ago. Maybe his mom was right about him. She would always tell him that got attached to people too quickly…

Thinking of his mom, reminded him, he was supposed to be inside the bookstore with her.

Troy groaned. _Gosh, whose idea was it, to go Mother-Son book shopping? I mean, who does stuff like that?_, he thought to himself, while getting out of the car.

When he got up to the front door of the store, Troy saw his mom there, waiting for him.

"Hey mom.."

As soon as his mother noticed him, she responded with, "Troy. What took you so long? I was worried. Why didn't you call?"

Troy fought the urge, to roll his eyes at his mom's somewhat panic attack. "I'm only five minutes late, from when I said I would be here," Troy pointed out. "But now, that I'm here, you can go 'shop' or whatever." He used air quotes on the word _shop_, not really understanding how anyone could _shop_ at a bookstore.

"But Troy, we're supposed to being this together."

Troy groaned.

"Why don't we compromise? I'll be in the American Literature section, you can go look wherever you want, and later we'll choose 2 books from the ones I choose & the ones you choose." She was hoping her son would agree to this compromise. He could be so stubborn sometimes.

"Yeah, sure," Troy said half-heartedly. He didn't seem to enthusiastic, but his mother knew she had won.

"Okay, so come find me, when you choose something," his mother said. Troy nodded and his mother walked off.

Troy went straight to where the magazines were. Magazines count as books, right?

He started flipping through a tabloid, when he heard a voice ask, "Do you need help with anything?"

He didn't look up from the magazine, but still answered. "Nope, I'm fine. But there's this lady in the American Literature section, that may need your help," he said, referring to his mother.

"Uhm, okay," the voice answered back.

Troy nodded, still not looking up, waiting to here the person's footsteps as they walked away. But he heard nothing. They didn't walk away?

Troy finally looked up, and saw a blonde girl with brown eyes, looking at him. Her name tag said.. _Sharpay_? What kind of name is that?

"Hi," she said, smiling.

"Hello.. Sharpay," he answered back. _Ha, that's a weird name. It's fun to say it out loud_, he thought to himself.

A look of shock flashed across her face. _How does he know my name?_

Troy figured out right away, why she had that shocked look on her face, because he quickly said, "Your name is on your name tag." He smirked.

She looked down at her name tag. "Oh, right. I'm always forgetting about that. I was so sure, you were a stalker or something.."

Troy laughed.

"So, what's your name?," Sharpay questioned.

"Troy," he answered.

She raised an eyebrow. "That's a weird name."

"Says the girl, who's named after a marker!"

"That's _Sharpie_, dingbat." Sharpay stuck her tongue out at him.

"Whatever..," Troy muttered. "And I'm not a dingbat!"

"Okay, whatever you say." She smirked, and started to walk away "Anyway, I better get back to work. A lady in the American Literature section, you said?"

"Yeah, but she's probably done now. I bet she's carrying around an armful of books, right now. And I bet, she's gonna make me read all of them, too." Troy scoffed. "Two books, my ass.."

Sharpay just stared at Troy in wonderment. She found his little temper tantrum was amusing.

She figured that the lady in the American Literature, that he mentioned, was his mom or something.

"Right…so, American Literature?," Sharpay asked, once again.

"Yes, and convince her to pick a book, that _won't_ bore me to death," Troy said, with pleading eyes.

"Will do," she said with a smile. And then went off to find Troy's mom.

Troy watched her walked off and smiled to himself. He already liked Sharpay, even if she was named after a marker.

_Hmm.. Maybe we should go Mother-Son book shopping more often.._

_

* * *

_

_So how was it? Good? I think so. I like it better, than my last chapter :]_

_Anyhow, the next chapter will be fast forwarded a couple of months into the future. Gabriella and Sharpay will be Troy's best friends already. Then soon, some drama will start :D Yes, who doesn't love drama? _

_Oh, if you're reading this right now & you've read the whole chapter: REVIEW! Or else, I'll hunt you down and kill you in your sleep. LOL_


	3. Chapter 3

_Dude, I feel like I haven't updated in forever. I was suppose to update two days ago, but stuff happened… Anyway, I'm updating now :D_

_Oh, I don't remember if I mention this in the last chap, but this chapter is a few months in the future :]_

_And OMG, I just saw TWILIGHT today :D it was UH-MAZE-ING, just like the book (;_

_**Disclaimer: **__Nope, I don't High School Musical...and I don't own Dora The Explorer, either ;]_

* * *

It was Saturday morning, and Troy & Gabriella were sitting on Troy's bed, watching TV. Gabriella had slept over his house last night and they had just woken up about an hour ago. They were currently watching 'Dora The Explorer'. Something about these little kid shows, intrigued them both.

"Dora! You're the one with the map, why are you asking me?" Troy yelled at the television.

"I don't think she can hear you, Troy.." Gabriella giggled at her best friend. He was always yelling at the TV.

"But Gabby, The Chocolate Tree is right behind her.. Why can't she see it?," he whined.

She just giggled at him.

"…And Boots isn't helping, either," Troy continued.

"You know, Troy, you kinda look like Boots," Gabriella said, smirking.

Troy almost choked, "You're comparing me to a blue monkey!?"

"Not just any blue monkey," Gabriella pointed out. "A blue monkey with red boots!" She smiled, goofily.

Troy glared at her. "I don't even where red boots…," he muttered.

"You could if you wanted to," she nodded, still smiling. "I'm sure you could pull it off."

Troy glared at her, yet again.

"And I could be Dora," Gabby continued. "I'll get a purple backpack and everything!" She giggled.

Troy just blinked at her. She was insane!

Meanwhile, Dora was _still_ trying to find the Chocolate Tree. God, what was wrong with her?

--

Later that day, Troy was at Sharpay's house. They were doing their history project. Well, Troy was doing it, but Sharpay was laying there. She argued that since she was the one had gotten the books they needed (using her Barnes & Noble employee discount, of course), that Troy should have to do the rest of the project. Troy was reluctant to agree to that, but he knew he wouldn't win if he tried to argue. Sharpay always won.

"Trojan," Sharpay said rolling over on the bed.

"Hmm..?," Troy asked from behind the laptop, he was typing like mad.

"Does it bother you that I nicknamed you after a condom brand?," she asked, smirking.

Troy looked up from the laptop, and raised an eyebrow at her. "No… I prefer to think that you nicknamed after the Trojan Horse."

Sharpay rolled over again, "What the hell is a Trojan horse?"

"It's what our report is on…"

"Oh. Right. I knew that..," she nodded. "By the way, how is that coming along?," referring to their report.

"It'd be better if you helped." Troy answered, smiling.

"Eh, no thank you." She smirked at him.

Troy frowned. "Fine."

"Aw, did I hurt Trojan's feelings?," Sharpay asked, in a baby voice.

"Yes."

"Ha, Too bad."

"Gosh, you're evil."

"But you love me anyway." She grinned and poked him.

"Yes. For reasons unknown.."

* * *

_Yeah, nothing really happened in this chapter. This was to show you how they're best friends and everything :] Next chapter, I shall start the DRAMA :D _

_Oh, and did I make Sharpay seem too mean? She's not supposed to be mean, she just likes teasing Troy. I mean, who wouldn't love teasing Troy?! Hehe, LOL_


	4. Chapter 4

_Eeeep, I love reviews! They make me happy (: I, personally, am a lazy reviewer. But I'm gonna start reviewing people who review me :D_

_This chapter has some of that drama I promised :D Enjoy :]_

_**Disclaimer: **__Yes. Disney just signed High School Musical over to me, this morning ;)_

_

* * *

_

Sharpay sped down the halls of East High, looking for Troy. She missed him terribly, even though she had just seen him at lunch, about an hour ago. But he was her best friend, they had that kind of bond where it hurt to be away from each other, for any more than ten minutes.

She stopped dead in her tracks, when she found him standing at his locker, talking to _her_. His **other** best friend.

_Ugh, who decided that it was okay for a person to have two best friends? _Sharpay groaned.

Troy, then, noticed her and beckoned her over.

Sharpay put on smile, for Troy's sake, and walked over to them.

"Hi Shar," Troy said, smiling.

She smiled back. "Hey Trojan," she said in a cutesy voice. Then she looked over at the girl who was standing next him, "_Gabriella_," she said in a not-so-cutesy voice.

"_Sharpay_." Gabriella answered back, in the same 'blah' tone.

Troy seemed oblivious to the obvious tension between the two girls. His attention was now turned to the inside of his locker, he was looking for his Chemistry notebook. _Where did I put that damn thing?_, he thought to himself, while searching through all his books.

All the while, Sharpay and Gabriella were giving each other death stares. Well, Sharpay was giving a death stare, while Gabriella was simply trying to pretend she was somewhere else. Somewhere that Sharpay wasn't.

Troy broke the silence with a "Brie, can I borrow your chemistry notes?" He had no luck find his notebook.

Sharpay scoffed. _Why didn't he ask for __**my**__ notes? Well, it's not like I actually ever take notes in class, so I guess, it's good that he didn't ask.._

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah, I'll give them to you later."

"Awesome," Troy replied, closing his locker.

Sharpay cleared her throat. "Trojan," she said, using her cutesy voice again, causing Gabriella to glare at her. "I need you to drive me to work."

Troy was about answer, when Gabriella interrupted. "Don't you have a car, Sharpay?," she questioned, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Yes, I do, Gabriella. Not that, it is any of your business," Sharpay answered back, "But Troy doesn't mind driving me."

"How do you know that?," Gabriella snapped. "He only never says anything, because he's nice. I bet, he hates driving you around. Especially, when you have your own damn car!"

"For your information, Troy loves driving me around!," Sharpay snapped back.

"I highly doubt that!"

"Like, I give a shit about what you 'highly doubt'!"

Troy just stood there, watching his two best friends arguing. He wished they would stop talking — erm, yelling — about him, like he wasn't standing right there. Perhaps, they really had forgot that he was standing there. He decided to test it. "Uh, Brie? Shar?," he asked nervously.

"Not now, Troy!," both girls answered at the same time. They then went back to their argument.

"At least, I'm not a hoe!"

"It's better than being a bitch!"

"I'd rather be a bitch, than a hoe!"

"Of course, _you_ would. You're a bitch!"

Troy sighed. He looked around. It was after school, they were only three people there. Which was good, Troy decided, he really didn't want anyone witnessing this, anyway. He looked back over at his friends and they were still in the middle of a heated argument. He sighed again, and took this as opportunity to leave. He grabbed his backpack and headed towards the door, but not before getting Gabriella's chemistry notebook out of her backpack.

* * *

_So, does anyone else find it weird how Troy just lets his best friends fight like that? I mean, why doesn't he do something? God, that kid needs to grow a backbone. :P Anyway, I made him like that on purpose. He supposed to be….clueless, for lack of a better word. I don't know, you'll see as we get deeper into the story :]_

_OH & I don't know if this story is gonna end Troypay or Troyella (well, I have an idea, but I'm not telling you guys; I like to make you suffer, LOL) People should just keep reading & see what happens [;_

_:] Sorry for any grammatical errors, you may have noticed. I didn't get a chance to proofread._


	5. Chapter 5

_Hey hey people! :D How was everyone's Thanksgiving? Mine was lovely, I went to San Fransisco. (DUDE, I got to ride in a cable car :D)_

_I saw Camp Rock for_ _my first time on Friday (yeah, I know; I'm late). I have no idea why it took me so long to watch it. Gah, I'm lame. Anyway, it was a pretty good movie, but I still prefer High School Musical (: I'm not a huge Jonas fan or anything; I'm pretty sure fans appreciated the movie more. But, I do, love Demi Lovato :D If you don't have her CD yet, you should go buy it...right now! Well, no, read this chapter first **then** go buy it :P_

_Oh & I apologize, if this chapter is lame. I have a feeling it is._

_**Disclaimer: **__Eh, I can't think of anything clever to write._

* * *

"Arrrgh! I hate that darn Sharpay! She ruins everything!," Gabriella yelled at no one in particular. She was pacing in her room. She had stalked home angrily, after her fight with Sharpay. When she got home, she was still stomping around, upset, which caused her mother to give her some weird looks.

"I hate her! Hate her, hate her.. How dare she call me a hoe? And in front of Troy? Ugghh."

Just then, she heard her cell phone ring.

_'Our song is the slamming screen door. Sneaking out late, tapping on your window.'_

She started to look for her phone. Somehow, she was always loosing that thing. Was it under her bed?

_'When we're on the phone and you talk real slow, 'cause it's late and your mama don't know.'_

She spotted her phone under the bed and reached for it. How did it always end up there?

_'Our song is the way you laugh. The first date "Man, I didn't kiss her, and I should have"'_

"Gosh, Taylor, I get it! You can stop singing now!," Gabriella cursed her cell phone and its ringtone. Usually, she would be singing along with the song, but right now, she was panicked over the whole thing with Sharpay.

She grabbed her phone and flipped it open, without checking caller id. "Hello?"

"Hey Brie," answered a voice, she knew very well.

"Hi Troy!," she said, smiling for the first time, in about an hour.

"Hey.. Uh, what happened with you and Shar earlier?," Troy wanted to know.

Gabriella didn't respond. Her smile had just been wiped clean of her face. _He called __**me**__, to ask about __**her**__?_

"Because, I mean, I really _don't_ mind driving her to work…," he continued.

Gabriella shook her head, even though Troy couldn't see. _He really thought that __**that**__ was what we were arguing about? God, boys are so simple-minded! Even immensely adorable ones, like Troy…_

"…so it really doesn't make sense that you two were fighting about that.," Troy finished.

"That's not what we were arguing about, Troy."

"Oh? So, what was up then?"

She shook her head again. _We were fighting over you, dorkus! How can you be so oblivious?! It's like, you don't pay any attention at all! Don't you realize I freaking love you? That every time I see with you with Sharpay, it breaks my heart? No, obviously not.. _"Nothing. It was no big deal, Troy."

"Whatever you say," Troy replied, not believing the answer she gave. It was the same thing Sharpay said, when he just asked her, before calling Gabriella. It certainly didn't seem like 'no big deal', but he knew better that to keep badgering. They weren't going to tell him.

--

"Ugh, Ryan. She's terrible. She'strying to steal my Trojan." Sharpay was venting to her brother, Ryan, about her encounter with Gabriella that took place earlier today.

"Well, technically, he's not _your_ Trojan," Ryan pointed out. "His name's not even Trojan.."

Sharpay glared at him, giving him a you're-not-helping look. "Ryan. Don't you know how this works? When I vent to you, you're supposed to agree with everything I say. Ergo, when I say Gabriella is terrible, you're supposed to say something degrading towards her."

"Right. Okay," he nodded. "So…Gabriella. She's… horrible?" He said, attempting to say 'something degrading' about Gabriella.

Sharpay nodded. "Yes, she is. And she's stealing my Trojan," she sniffled, fore she had been crying.

"Shar, don't you think you're being just a bit dramatic? I mean, how can she _steal_ Troy?"

"I don't know _how_, Ry. That's the point. I can't figure it out. She's like a gypsy!"

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "A gypsy?"

"Yes! She purposely started that fight today, to make me look bad in front of Troy. She's tricking Troy into liking her, so she can run off with him!" Sharpay was going hysterical. "That's what gypsies do."

"How do you know so much about gypsies?," Ryan questioned, completely ignoring the point of his sister's rant.

"Not the point, Ryan. The point is, she's trying to steal him! She's a freaking gypsy!"

"Right…" _Sharpay has lost it._

Sharpay was now sitting on her bed, muttering to herself. Something about a 'stupid gypsy hoe'… Ryan didn't quite catch it.

* * *

_Wasn't that terrible? No fluff, just blah. I'll make the next chap better; more of that gushy friendship fluff :D_


	6. Chapter 6

_I just realized that this story has a seriously sucky title :P_

_**Disclaimer: **__Hmm, nope; I still don't own Corbin's hair. *sighs* I guess, I'm sleeping on my same old hard pillow tonight._

* * *

Troy and Sharpay were laying on Sharpay's bed, watching MTV. They had just seen _three_ Britney Spears music videos. Meaning, Troy had just heard Sharpay complain _three_ times about how scantily clothed Britney was. Meaning, _three_ times, Troy had ignored Sharpay's complaints.

Just then, Troy's stomach growled. "Hmm…I want pancakes."

"And _I_ want to be a princess," Sharpay smirked at him. She knew that when Troy said that, he meant he wanted **her** to make him some pancakes. But she decided to play dumb.

"But Shar, you're already a princess! You have a tiara in your locker! Normal people don't have tiaras in their lockers!"

"This is true. I do have a tiara," she nodded. "So, since I'm princess. Then I shouldn't have to make you pancakes."

Troy's eyes widened in horror. "Why not?"

"Because princesses don't have to cook for other people," she said in a 'duh' tone.

"But-"

"No buts, Trojan. You're not getting any pancakes."

"Fine. I'll just tell my mommy to make me some," he said, sounding like a five-year-old.

Sharpay giggled at him. Then she remembered she had to tell him something. "Troy, there's something you should know."

"Yeah?"

"Gabriella is a gypsy," she answered in a serious tone.

Troy stared at her for moment, before bursting into insane laughter. "She's a what?," he asked, although Sharpay could barely understand him, because he was laughing so hard.

"She's a gypsy," she answered, while Troy just continued laughing uncontrollably. _It wasn't even that funny_., Sharpay thought.

"That's impossible, Shar. Gypsies are from Europe. Gabs is from Albuquerque." Troy pointed out, as his laughter started to subside.

Sharpay shook her head. "Not exactly, Troy. She only moved here last year. We don't know where she lived before."

Troy blinked at her.

--

Later, Troy and Gabriella were tell each other jokes. Unforunately, they were terrible joke tellers. Especially Troy, he always started laughing before he even got to the punch line **(A/N: Ha! I do that too! :D)**. Finally, he thought of something funny. Or, something _he_ thought was funny.

"Sharpay said the funniest thing today."

"Really? What did she say?" She could honestly care less about anything Sharpay had to say. But she had to pretend for Troy's sake.

"She said you were a gypsy," Troy answered, almost bursting into his hysterical laughter once again.

Gabriella raised an eyebrow. "It's really not that funny, Troy."

"But it is, Gaby. You should've been there, it was hilarious.," Troy laughed.

"Is her calling me a gypsy supposed to be a compliment?"

Troy shrugged. "I don't know, but it was funny. Like insanely funny. Like I nearly passed out from laughing so hard."

Gabriella said nothing, she just blinked.

"And then I was like, 'aren't gypsies from Europe?'. Then she was all, 'how do you Gabriella's not from Europe?'. It was total hilarity," Troy finished.

"I don't like that you and Sharpay are talking about me, behind my back.," Gabriella spat, crossing her arms.

"We weren't talking about you, Gabs."

"Then how did my name come up in the conversation?"

"I don't remember. We were talking about pancakes. And how Sharpay is a princess. Did you know that princesses don't make pancakes? That's ridiculous, right? I mean, princess or not, you should still make your best friend some pancakes…"

Gabriella sighed. She could tell this was going to be a _long_ story.

* * *

_Gosh, Troy is clueless. You're not supposed to tell your best friend that your other best friend thinks your first best friend is a gypsy. And you're not supposed to laugh about it, either. Especially not, when the two best friends don't like each other. Poor naïve Troy. *shakes my head*_

_I'm sorry, if this story is moving slow. There's a lot of exciting-ish stuff that's gonna be happening soon, but I'm trying to build up to it. Oh & remember how Ryan was in the last chap? He'll be in the next one too *happy dances for Ryan* :] I already have it written, I'll try post it within the next two days._


	7. Chapter 7

_Am I updating too fast? I feel like I'm updating fast and leaving no time for suspense to build ;D it's just that I'm trying to get to the more exciting parts of my story. I'm overly excited! :]_

_**Disclaimer: **__No, I still don't own High School Musical. It's really depressing ):_

* * *

Sharpay hid behind a locker and watched Troy, walk down the hall with Gabriella. She turned to her brother, who was standing next to her. "What should I do, Ry?"

"About what?," Ryan questioned.

"About Troy. Gabriella attaches to him like a leech."

"Well, honestly, so do you."

Sharpay glared at her brother. "That's my point. Where do I get my leech time, when she's always around? When Troy and I get married, I don't her still being around. It's not fair."

"You're right, it's not…," Ryan trailed off. "Wait. You guys are getting married?"

Sharpay nodded. "Eventually. And Gabriella ruins everything."

"Yes, Gabriella is horrible," he said, almost sarcastically. "But married? Troy agreed to getting married?"

She bit her lip. "No…"

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "How do you know if he even likes you?"

"Of course, he likes me, Ry," she answered in a 'duh' tone. "Would you claim someone you didn't like as your best friend? No, I don't think you would."

"That's not what I mean, Shar. I mean, does he like you like you like him?"

Sharpay blinked. "Are you assuming that he doesn't?"

"No. But you're assuming that he does."

Sharpay blinked again. _He's right. It's not like he acts as if he likes me as anymore than a friend. But then again, I don't either. Because I don't want him to know. Perhaps, he's just hiding it? I mean, how can he best friends with me this long, and not feel anything romantic. I certainly feel it. _Then a light bulb went of in her head. She wasn't his only best friend…maybe he felt romantic towards the other best friend. A look of horror flashed across her face.

Ryan stared at his twin, who was apparently having a revelation of some sort.

"Troy is in love with Gabriella."

"What?"

She nodded. "It's obvious. He never acts like he thinks of me as anything more than a friend."

"And how does he act when he's around Gabriella?"

Sharpay shrugged. "How should I know? I tend to look in the other direction, whenever I see them together."

"So maybe, he does like you."

Sharpay smiled at the thought. "You should ask him for me!"

"Ask him, what? If he's in love with my sister?!"

--

Ryan couldn't believe Sharpay was making him do this. If she wasn't his sister and all, he would've said no. But she is his sister, so had to do this. He found Troy at his locker.

"If you're looking for your sister, I haven't seen her all day. I feel like she's avoiding me or something," Troy said as soon as he saw Ryan.

"Uh, no. I just talked to her. And it's not you she's avoiding, it's someone else. " He failed to mention that the someone she was avoiding happened to be Gabriella, whom Troy had been with all day.

"Oh, okay. So, what's up?" He didn't really care much about who Sharpay was avoiding. He was just glad it wasn't him.

"Shar wanted me ask you something," Ryan answered. Troy nodded and gestured for him to go on.

Just then, Gabriella came from out of nowhere and stood next to Troy. "Hey Troy," she said, in a happy voice. Troy smiled in response.

Then she noticed Ryan. "Hi Ryan," she said in the same voice. Surprisingly, she didn't hate Ryan. She didn't even dislike him. It wasn't his fault, he had to share a womb with Sharpay.

"Hey…," Ryan answered, halfheartedly. Inside, he was contemplating the fact that Sharpay might plummet him in to another galaxy for talking to Gabriella.

"So, what was it Sharpay wanted to ask me? Or wanted you to asked me?"

Ryan debated whether or not he should ask in front of Gabriella, who was standing there with a curious look on her face. He voted no. "Uh. I can't remember."

Troy eyed Ryan, suspiciously. Something was up. There was no way, he had actually forgotten; but he decided to let it slide. "Okay, well, tell me when you remember."

Ryan nodded and went off to find Sharpay.

--

"So, what did Troy say?," Sharpay squealed, when Ryan came to her, during lunch.

"He didn't say anything, because I didn't ask him," Ryan admitted.

"Ryan!," she whined.

"I was about to, but then Gabriella-"

Sharpay scoffed. "I should've known, it was her fault."

"Yeah. Right when I was about to ask, she appeared out of nowhere."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you, Ry. She's a freaking gypsy."

"Gypsies don't appear out of nowhere, Shar," Ryan pointed out. "I think, you are referring to _genies_."

Sharpay shrugged. "Genies. Gypsies. What's the difference?"

Ryan was about to answer, when Sharpay interrupted, "That was a rhetorical question."

"Whatever. By the way, Troy thinks your avoiding him."

"It's not him. It's his _pet_.," Sharpay replied, referring to Gabriella.

"Yeah, I know..."

* * *

_There's not a lot of Gabriella in this chap. She's there when Ryan is talking to Troy, but she doesn't really say anything. This chapter was mostly Sharpay & Ryan. I'll make the next chapter more Gabriella-ish, I guess._


	8. Chapter 8

_Okay, so guess what? I started working on another story! :D I think I'm gonna finish this one first, before I upload it. But I don't know, yet._

_**Disclaimer: **__Nope, I don't own HSM. But I'll be sure to ask Mickey Mouse if I can have it, next time I go to Disneyland. ;]_

* * *

Sharpay felt bad about avoiding Troy. Well, avoiding Gabriella, which caused her to avoid Troy. She decided to try to find him, so he would know she wasn't really ditching him. Since it was after school, she figured he'd be at his car, preparing to leave. She was right.

She walked up to Troy's car. "Hey Trojan."

"Where have you been? I've been looking for you all day.," was Troy's way of greeting Sharpay.

"It didn't seem like it… you were with Gabriella, the whole time," she said without thinking.

Troy was confused as to how Gabriella had anything to do with him looking for her, but didn't question. "Ryan said, you wanted to ask me something."

"No… I wanted _him_ to ask you something."

"Well, now that you're here, why can't you ask me?"

"Because it was Ryan's job." It wasn't a very good excuse, but Troy was going to have to live with it.

"Okay…"

"So, what are you doing tomorrow? You know, since it's Saturday and everything.," Sharpay asked quickly, eager to change the subject.

"Oh, I'm probably going to the movies with Brie…," Troy answered. "You can come, too."

"I'll pass." No way was she going anywhere with '_Brie'._

--

"So, are we still going tomorrow?," Gabriella questioned into the phone.

"Yeah," Troy answered on the other end. "I asked Shar, if she wanted to go, but she said-"

Gabriella groaned. "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?," Troy asked, confused.

"Why did you ask Sharpay?"

Troy was still confused. "Was I not supposed to ask?"

"Of course, you're not supposed to."

Troy raised an eyebrow, though Gabriella couldn't see. "Why not?"

"You're just not."

"I don't understand."

"Obviously," Gabriella muttered.

"Hey, I heard that!," Troy retorted. "But, seriously. What's wrong with me inviting Shar?"

"I just don't like her.," Gabriella admitted.

"Why not?"

"I don't know, Troy! Stop asking so many questions!," Gabriella yelled, before slamming her phone shut.

--

"…And then she hung up on me.," Troy finished telling Sharpay, over the phone.

"I told you she was a gypsy, Trojan." Sharpay reminded him.

"Yes. But what does that have to do with her, hanging up on me? Or the fact that she doesn't like you?," he questioned. "I mean, you don't dislike _her_,do you?"

She bit her lip. "Uh, maybe."

"Maybe what?"

"Maybe I don't like her, either."

"Why?," he wanted to know.

"How should I know?! Gosh, what is with you and all these questions?!" And just like Gabriella had done, she had hung up on him.

Troy stared at his phone, in wonderment. _What the heck is going on? Is it 'Hang Up On Troy' Day?_

--

"…And then, Shar hung up on me too."

"Troy, why are you telling me all this?," Ryan questioned into the phone, slightly irritated after having to listen to Troy's whole long drawn-out story.

"Because I ran out of people to call. Shar or Gabs are usually the first people I call, and-"

"Goodbye," Ryan said, right before hanging up.

"Yup. It's definitely 'Hang Up On Troy' Day," Troy muttered, as he put his phone down.

--

_Aw, poor Troy. I __**never**__ would have hung up on him, if he had called me. :]_


	9. Chapter 9

_Sorry for taking forever to update. My internet has been down. That, plus, I had a minor case of writer's block. And also, I took finals this past week & then I got sick, and blah. Not to mention, the all-important, Christmas shopping. Gosh, too much going on. _

_On the upside, I'm out of school until January 12__th__! :D_

_**Disclaimer: **__How many times must I say it? I don't own High School Musical._

* * *

Troy had been going over his previous conversations with his two best friends, all day. So, Gabriella didn't like Sharpay. And, Sharpay didn't like Gabriella. When did that happen? Had he missed something?

He felt almost ashamed for not noticing their animosity towards each other. But, still he didn't understand _why_. Why was there any animosity in the first place? Why didn't they tell him? Why didn't he figure it out himself?

Sure, he had seen them fight before, but he never really thought anything of it. And he had noticed them giving each other hate stares, but he figured it was just some "girl thing".

He never expected that they disliked each other. He must've been in his own little world, most of the time. Automatically, assuming that everyone liked each other and that everything was right in the world.

But he was way off. Everything was _wrong_ in the world. His best friends didn't like - possibly even hated - each other. Where did that leave him? How could he still be best friends with them? Would it be possible for him to hang out with one of them, without feeling guilty about betraying the other? Probably not.

--

All day at school, on Monday, Troy had been avoiding both Sharpay and Gabriella. He decided it would be better than trying to be friends with both of them, when they didn't like each other. He was sitting in his desk quietly, during fifth period, when Gabriella came and sat next to him. So much for avoiding her.. He opened up his textbook, pretending to read, so she wouldn't bother him.

"Hey Troy," she said, smiling.

"Hi Gabriella," he said, unenthused, not looking up from his book.

Gabriella frowned. "Troy, why are you being so-". Just then, Sharpay walked in the classroom and sat on the opposite side of Troy.

"This is all your fault," Gabriella hissed at Sharpay.

Sharpay blinked at her. "What are you talking about?"

"Because of you, Troy won't talk to me.," she answered, glancing at Troy, who was still trying to pretend that he was reading.

"Or maybe, he just realized what a whore you are."

"She's not a whore," Troy mumbled quietly. Sharpay and Gabriella both shot him a look, but he didn't notice because he still hadn't looked up.

"This is still your fault.," Gabriella repeated.

"Whatever, Gabriella. The reason, he isn't talking to us, is because he knows we don't like each other. And doesn't want me to get mad at him, for talking to you. Or vice versa.," Sharpay explained. "It's not rocket science."

Gabriella scoffed. "You're so smart," she said sarcastically.

"Smarter than you, little miss Montez.," Sharpay retorted, smirking.

Meanwhile, Troy was still 'reading'.

--

"And tell Shar that I can't come over after school.," Troy finished telling Ryan.

Ryan gave him a weird look. "Why can't you tell her yourself? She's standing right here." He gestured to Sharpay, who was standing about a foot away from them.

"He can't talk to me, because he doesn't want Gabriella to find out," Sharpay explained to Ryan.

Ryan blinked. "That's stupid."

"Can't you just tell her?," Troy questioned, still ignoring the fact Sharpay was right there.

"I pretty sure she already heard you, Troy."

"So, you're not gonna tell her?," he asked.

Sharpay butted in. "Just tell me, Ryan!"

"But you already heard him!"

"Just tell me, anyway. It will make Troy feel better.," Sharpay reasoned.

Ryan groaned. "Troy is not coming over after school.," he told her, even though she obviously had already heard.

"So, did you tell her?," Troy asked, a few seconds later.

"You just saw me tell her!," Ryan yelled at him.

* * *

_Does anyone else find Ryan insanely amusing? …no? oh, well, I guess it's just me ;]_

_Sorry if this chapter was too short; the next chapter should be a bit longer._

_And incase, I don't update before the 25__th__, MERRY CHRISTMAS :D_


	10. Chapter 10

_Oh my god, I just watched the movie __27 Dresses__. I'm officially in love with that movie; It's amazing. :] Plus, James Marsden is in it. *drools* I love him (:_

_**Disclaimer: **__I still don't own High School Musical. …and not that it matters, but I don't own James Marsden either *sighs* :[_

* * *

"Troy, are you ever going to talk to me?," pleaded Gabriella. She hadn't talk to him in days.

Troy remained silent, scribbling something in his notebook.

"Come on, Sharpay's not even in here.," she pointed out. "She'll never know."

Troy blinked at her and then, leaned over to his side, to where his friend Chad was sitting. "Chad, would you tell Gabriella that I'm not gonna talk to her until she & Shar resolve their issue?"

Chad turned to Gabriella. "Troy said-"

"I heard him..," she seethed.

--

After class, Gabriella stormed over to Sharpay's locker. "Sharpay, I need your help."

Sharpay glared at her. "Why would I help you?"

"Because it's something that will help both of us.," she explained. Sharpay didn't look amused, but still gestured for Gabriella to go on.

"Okay, so you know how Troy won't talk to us?"

Sharpay nodded. "Yeah. All because, you had to go and blab about your flagrant hatred towards me. Thus, making Troy question, if he could be friends with us anymore."

Gabriella gave her a dirty look. "Like, this is my fault.."

"It is your fault."

"Is not!"

"Yeah, whatever.," Sharpay brushed her off. "What did you need my help for?"

"Oh, right. Okay, so, Troy won't talk to me, I mean, _us_, because he thinks we don't like each other."

"Well, we _don't_ like each other."

"Exactly. But he'd be our friends again, if we became friends."

Sharpay blinked. "We? As in, you and I? _Friends_?"

Gabriella nodded.

Sharpay busted into insane laughter. "Yeah, like that's ever gonna happen."

"We could, at least, pretend. For Troy's sake.," Gabriella said, hopefully.

Sharpay pondered this for a moment. "You really think this will work?"

--

"Hey Trojan," Sharpay said, taking a seat next to him at lunch.

Troy looked at her, but said nothing. He spotted Ryan, walking by. "Ry, can you tell Shar-"

"No, I'm not telling her anything! She's sitting right next to you!," Ryan yelled, before stomping off.

Troy watched Ryan leave, confused. _What the heck is wrong with him?_, Troy wondered. Then looked back at Sharpay.

"You can talk to me. Gabriella and I are friends, now." Sharpay smiled.

Troy blinked at her, obviously not believing that they were actually friends.

"She's not lying, Troy," said a voice, coming from being Troy. It turned out to be Gabriella. She came around the table, and sat next to Sharpay. "We are friends."

Troy still remained silent, staring at them both.

Sharpay whispered, so only Gabriella could hear. "It's not working. He doesn't believe us."

"Let's just keep going. He'll have to believe us, eventually.," Gabriella whispered back.

"So, Sharpay, you know what I love best about being friends?," Gabriella said, reverting back to her normal non-whispering voice, so Troy could hear.

Sharpay shrugged. "Nope. What do you love best?"

"I love that we can all be best friends together. You, me and Troy."

"That is, if Troy ever talks to us.," Sharpay said, as she glanced at Troy.

Troy stared at them for a moment, before cracking a smile. "So, you guys are really friends now?"

Both girls smiled and nodded.

"That's awesome," he said, before hugging them both.

"Yeah, it is." Sharpay said, as she gently pulled out off the hug. "But right now, I need to talk to Gabriella privately," she said, getting up from her seat and pulling Gabriella up with her.

Troy nodded and gestured for them to go, just happy that he could friends with them again.

Sharpay pulled Gabriella out of the cafeteria. "Oh my god, I can't believe that worked!," she squealed, as they were alone in the hallway. "Trojan is my friend, again.

"See? I told you," Gabriella said. "But you do realize, he's gonna expect us to act like we're best friends all the time, now."

Sharpay frowned. "Shoot. You're right."

"It won't be that hard…"

"Yeah, as long as you don't do anything to piss me off.," said Sharpay.

Gabriella scoffed. "Me? Why do you assume it has to be my fault?"

"Because it's always your fault."

"It is not!"

"It, so, is!"

"Is not, hoe!"

"Who are you calling a hoe, skank?!"

Yeah, this 'friend' thing was going to be harder than they thought.

* * *

_So, Gaby and Shar are 'friends'? I don't think their friendship is going too last long. ;] one of them is probably gonna slip in front of Troy, and then he'll go back to not talking to them anymore :D I mean, doesn't that seem highly likely?_

_And did anyone notice that one Ryan part? Ha, I had to add that in there ;] I love Ryan. Maybe after this story, I'll write a Ryan-esque story :P …Or not._

_This chapter was long enough, right? I was going to be longer, but I wasn't sure; I thought it would be too long._


	11. Chapter 11

_I was thinking, after I finish this story; I want to write a with someone :D So…anyone want to write a story with me? Please :] It could be fun, yes?_

_By the way, sorry, if this chapter is lame-ish; I, myself, am not totally satisfied with how it came out._

_**Disclaimer: **If I owned High School Musical, Sharpay would've gotten her song with Troy. But since she didn't, I guess, I don't own it._

_

* * *

_

"So, that's your idea? Pretending to be friends with Gabriella?"

"Well, actually it was her idea.," she admitted. "But it's a pretty good idea, right?"

"Uh, no.," Ryan said, flatly.

"Psh, what do you know?" She scoffed.

"I know, that it's a bad idea."

Sharpay shook her head. "No, it's not."

"Okay, first of all, you do realize you're defending_ Gabriella's_ idea, right? I mean, it may just be me. But I don't know, that seems a little weird coming from you.," Ryan said. "And second, doesn't it make you feel guilty? You know, lying to Troy?"

"I'm not lying to him," she said, even though she knew she was.

"And what happened to that whole you & Troy getting married thing?"

"Oh, don't worry. That's still gonna happen.," she said, confidently. "I'll get rid of Gabriella, before then."

"Right… does he even know you like him, yet?"

"You were supposed to tell him, remember?," she reminded him.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just tell him, before Gabriella does."

Sharpay's eyes widened. "Gabriella likes Troy?"

"Of course, she does. Gosh, where have you been?! Why do you think she hates you?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I never really thought about it."

--

Troy, Sharpay, and Gabriella were sitting in Troy's living room, watching TV. Troy was sitting in the middle, to avoid an argument over who got to sit next to him.

"Isn't this awesome? The three of us? Hanging out?" Troy asked his two best friends, enthusiastically.

"Yeah, it's great," Gabriella lied. Sure, hanging out with Troy was great, but Sharpay could take a hike.

"And to think, you guys didn't even like each other..," Troy continued.

"Yeah, I know. It's crazy." Gabriella nodded. "Right, Sharpay?"

"Uh huh, sure.," Sharpay replied, nervously, feeling guilty about lying.

"Are you okay, Shar?," Troy asked, noticing how uncomfortable she seemed.

"Uh, no actually-," Sharpay started. Gabriella cut her off, when she realized she was about to try to tell Troy the truth.

"Sharpay is okay, she's just tired. She was up late last night.," Gabriella lied, quickly.

Troy raised an eyebrow at her. "Why are you answering for her?"

"Because she's tired.," she repeated.

Troy blinked at her. "Right…" He looked over at Sharpay. "Are you alright?"

Sharpay nodded, but didn't say anything. She knew if she opened her mouth, she would've blabbed to Troy about how she and Gabriella were lying to him. Her conscience was killing her.

"See, Troy? She's fine.," Gabriella said.

"Yeah, I guess…" he said, unsure, looking over at Sharpay, who was still looking uncomfortable in her spot on the couch.

"Don't worry about her.," she said, putting her hand on his knee.

His eyes flash to her hand, back to her face, then back to her hand. "What are you doing?," he asked, giving her a weird look.

Then, it happened. Gabriella pressed her lips against Troy's.

Sharpay's jaw dropped. _What the hell?_

--

It had been three hours, since Gabriella left. Three hours, since Troy had went in to a state of shock. Three hours, since Sharpay started hyperventilating over the fact that Gabriella had kissed her Trojan.

_Her_ Trojan. _Not_ Gabriella's. Although, Gabriella obviously didn't understand that.

Sharpay looked over at Troy, who hadn't spoken since Gabriella…well, you know. Since she did what she did. Sharpay couldn't tell, if Troy had enjoyed it or not. She, of course, hoped that he hadn't. But since he wasn't talking, there was no way she could know.

There was silence between them, except the sound of the television, in which Troy was staring at.

Sharpay decided to break the silence, that had been going on for three hours. "Troy, do you like Gabriella? Like, really like her?"

"Yeah.," he answered, not looking away from the TV.

"Oh," she said, trying not to sound as heartbroken as she really was. "Do you like _me_?," she asked, hopefully.

"Yeah.," he answered, once again. Sharpay struggled contain her excitement at his answer; her excitement was subsided when she remembered that he also said that he liked Gabriella.

"Well, which one of us do you like more?", she wanted to know

Troy shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted.

So not, the answer Sharpay was hoping for. "Okay…so, what are you going to do?"

"About what?," he asked, confused.

"About me & Gabriella.," she said. Troy looked at her, still confused, as if she was speaking German or something. "I mean, you can't date both of us."

"Who said I was dating anyone?"

"Well, you just said you liked me…"

"And Gabriella," he reminded her.

"Yeah, _her_.," she silently scoffed. "And she likes you too. So, you could like ask her out. Or you could ask me out? I mean, you know, if you wanted to. No pressure. Although, if you did, I totally wouldn't mind. Going out with you, I mean."

"I'm not dating either of you," he said, quickly.

"Why not?" She was half-depressed, because Troy wouldn't go out with her. Because also happy, that he wouldn't date Gabriella, either.

"Too much drama. For example, if me and Brie started dating, you'd be mad, right?"

"No." That was a lie. "I'd be happy for you guys." That was an even bigger lie.

"Come on, Shar. You don't mean that."

"Yeah, I do." That's lie number 3.

"Stop lying."

"What makes you think I'm lying?," she asked, sounding offended, even though she knew she was lying.

"Because you don't like Gabriella."

"Yes, I do." Another lie. "We're friends now, Troy."

"I know you guys were faking." Sharpay looked at him, horrified. How did he figure it out? "Ryan told me."

"Note to self: Kill Ryan.," she mumbled to herself.

* * *

_OMG, Gabriella kissed Troy! Psh, yuck. He's gonna get herpes ;D Ha-Ha. I kid, I kid._

_I was gonna end the chapter, right after the kiss, and make it a cliffhanger. But I changed my mind ;]_

_Oh & HAPPY NEW YEAR! :D_


	12. Chapter 12

_Okay, seriously, I rewrote this chapter over about five times. And I still don't like it. LOL ;] It's extremely suckish, I'm warning you. Read at your own risk :O_

_**Disclaimer: **__Oh, how I hate writing the disclaimer ;D Gah, you guys know what I usually write here. Just imagine that it's here._

* * *

"Ryan! How could you?!," Sharpay demanded as she swung his bedroom door open.

"What did I do?" he asked, nervously.

"You ruined everything! You told Troy about mine & Gypsyella's plan to pretend to be friends! Which wouldn't have been so bad, if she hadn't kissed him! And then he said he liked her, which I still don't understand. It's like my entire world is falling apart and it's all your fault!" It wasn't really _all_ his fault, but Sharpay was upset, she just felt like yelling at someone.

"Gabriella kissed Troy?," he asked, ignoring everything else she had said.

"Yes! Have you not been listening?! God, I swear, you are no help at all!," she finished before storming out of his room.

--

Sharpay was relieved that Troy knew about how she and Gabriella weren't really friends. Pretending to be friends with her would be really hard after witnessing her kiss Troy. Just thinking of it, made her shudder.

"Hello Sharpay," Gabriella said, walking up to Sharpay's locker, seeming more smiley than usual. Sharpay figured she was still on a high from kissing Troy, a couple of days ago.

"Bite me," Sharpay seethed.

"C'mon, don't be like that. What if Troy walks by or something? We have to pretend we're friends, remember?," Gabriella hissed.

"Newsflash, Montez. Troy already knows we were lying."

Gabriella frowned. "You told him?"

"No. Ryan did. And thank god, because I can't be friends with a bitch who broke my heart and kissed my Trojan."

"As if, he even likes you," she scoffed.

"Actually, he does. He told me," Sharpay said, leaving out the part about him liking Gabriella, also.

Gabriella blinked. "When did he tell you that?"

"Right after you left on Saturday. Yeah, apparently, he didn't enjoy that kiss of death very much."

"I don't believe you," she lied. Gabriella actually didn't find the idea Troy liking Sharpay very unlikely. She had always suspected that he did, but she'd never admit it.

"Well, it's the truth. So, I suggest you find some other guy," Sharpay said.

"Yeah," Gabriella murmured.

--

Gabriella did what Sharpay told her to do. She found another guy. Now, she was gonna go rub in her face. Well, not exactly, but still…

"Hey Sharpay," Gabriella said, walking up to her locker.

Sharpay looked at her, annoyed. "Gosh, Montez. I already told you. The 'friend' thing is off. You can stop pretending you like me, now."

"That's not what I wanted. I have good news," Gabriella said.

Sharpay stared at her, blankly. "Good news for you? Or good news for me?"

"Both of us."

"I don't see how that's possible, but okay whatever."

"Remember, how you told me Troy said he liked you? Well, when he told you that, he didn't mention that he liked me, did he?," she asked.

"No…" she lied.

"Right. That's what I thought. So, I've been thinking, and you were right. It's stupid to be chasing after Troy when he doesn't like me. You know."

"Uh huh." _Except, he does like you, Gabriella! I've been lying!_, said the voice in the back of Sharpay's mind.

"And I've been talking to this other guy and I like him. And he asked me out." Gabriella continued.

"You got a boyfriend, already? God, it's only been like two days."

Gabriella glared at Sharpay. "I've been knowing him for longer than that. It's just that I've always been so hung up on Troy, that I never realized that I liked him."

"Right. Whatever. So, who's your guy?"

"Jason Cross."

"Ew," was Sharpay's response.

"What's wrong with him?" she frowned.

Sharpay raised an eyebrow. "You mean, besides his helmet hair?"

"Does it really matter what his hair looks like?"

"So, you admit it? You don't like his hair." Gabriella gave her a weird look. "Fine, I'll stop. But seriously. Would it kill him to use some conditioner?"

"Sharpay, do you want to hear the good news or not?"

"I thought that was the good news. Only I don't what's so good about it, considering--"

"If you're about to make another rude comment about Jason's hair, I suggest you stop talking."

"I wasn't gonna say anything…"

"Right. So about you're good news. Since I'm with Jason, now, you can be with Troy."

* * *

_So, Jason and Gabriella? What would the couple name for them be? __Jasella__? Blah, I don't know. Sorry for not ever mentioning Jason in the story before this. I didn't know beforehand that I was gonna write him in. Plus, Jason irks me. I don't know why, but he really bugs me in the HSM movies. Maybe it's because of his helmet hair. ;D _

_And was Troy in this chapter? At all? I don't think he was! How could I write a chapter, without my little Trojie?! ;] (Gah, I'm starting to sound like Sharpay.)_

_And I apologize for how terrible this chapter was. Next chapter will be better, I promise._


	13. Chapter 13

_Eeek!! Don't hurt me! I'm sorry for taking long to update. They're really piling on the homework, this semester. & school just started back last week! Gah, I'm having school-data overload! I'll try to post next chapter faster, though._

_On the upside, this is actually a pretty good chapter (in my opinion). & that actually means a lot, because I usually hate everything I write ;D_

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except all Sharpay's clothes. LOL :D Okay, so I don't own that either (unfortunately). But wouldn't that be radtastic, if I did? ;]_

* * *

"So, did you hear about Gabriella and Jason?" Sharpay asked Troy, when she saw him in the school parking lot.

Troy nodded. "Yeah, she told me. Jason told me, too. But yeah, Gaby told me first."

"Oh. So, what do you think about it?" she asked, trying to read his expression.

"About Jason and Gabriella? Well, at first, I thought it was kinda weird. You know, because Gabriella's all smart and Jason is…well, not. Because I guess, since— "

Sharpay interrupted, "That's not what I meant. I meant, like, you don't mind that they're going out? You told me that you liked her."

"I do like her," Troy said. Sharpay looked at him, as if she was waiting for him to say something else. So he continued, "If she likes Jason, she can go out with him if she wants to."

"Oh. So, you _are_ okay with it?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Sharpay."

--

Gabriella and Jason walked in the classroom, hand in hand. Sharpay watched the lovely sight from her desk.

"Isn't it wonderful, Ry?" she asked her brother, who was sitting in the desk next to her.

"Isn't _what_ wonderful?" Ryan asked.

"Gabriella has a boyfriend," she said, gesturing to the couple who had just walked in the classroom. "It's beautiful."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "You're not happy because Gabriella's going out with Jason. You're happy because she's _not_ hanging around Troy."

"Are those the same thing?"

"Not exactly."

"Well, whatever. The point is, Troy and I can be together now," she said, dreamily.

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever," Ryan mumbled. "I still don't understand how Gabriella got over Troy so fast. You didn't have anything to with this, did you?"

"What? Me? Why would I do anything? I didn't do anything," Sharpay stammered, nervously. Ryan eyed her suspiciously. "I didn't do anything, Ry. All I did was tell her that Troy didn't like her."

"But, he does like her. Doesn't he?"

"Not as far as Gabriella knows… So, be quiet. She might hear you," she hissed at her brother.

"How could you do that, Shar? What's gonna happen when she finds out that you lied to her?'

"She's not gonna find out, as long as you don't tell her," she said.

Ryan was offended. "What makes you think I was going to tell her?"

"Hello?" Sharpay said. "You're the one who blabbed to Troy, about our 'let's pretend to be friends' plan. You can't be trusted."

"Whatever, Sharpay. Troy was going to figure it out, eventually."

"Sure, sure," she said, brushing him off. "Just don't tell Gabriella."

--

**About a week later…**

"Hi Troy," Gabriella said, walking up to his locker, which he was trying to stuff his backpack into.

Troy looked at her, surprised. "Gabriella? Gabriella Montez? Is that you? God, it's been ages."

"Yeah, I know. It's just that I've been out with Jason a lot and—"

Troy interrupted. "I know, Gabs. Chillax. I was just kidding. Life is better with a sense of humor."

"Are you insinuating that I have no sense of humor?"

"No…" he said, unsure. "At least, I don't think I am. Seeing as, I have no idea what 'insinuating' means."

Gabriella sighed, "Troy, you really should read more often. It will expand your vocabulary."

"Yeah, me and books don't exactly like each other."

"Books and I," she corrected him.

"Whatever. Does it really matter?"

Gabriella was about to answer, when her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and read her text from Jason. Then she looked back up at Troy. "I have to go."

"Alright. Later."

"Later," Gabriella called over her shoulder, as she walked off to find her boyfriend.

Meanwhile, Sharpay had been watching from around the hall as Troy and Gabriella were talking, waiting for Gabriella to leave so she could go talk to Troy.

"Hey Trojan," she said, coming up behind him.

"Whoa. Where did you come from?"

"Nowhere."

"Well, you had to come from somewhere."

"Not if, I've been standing here the entire time," she said. Troy looked confused, so she continued, "You know, when you were talking to Gabriella. And she got all peeved because you said she no sense of humor. Which, I totally agree with, by the way. Then she started saying how you should read more often. And, well, I kind of agree with that, too. And then you 'books and me' instead of 'books and I' and — "

"How do you know all that?"

"I told you. I was standing right here."

"Or maybe, you're just psychic."

"Right…" Sharpay laughed. "We'll go with that."

--

Sharpay walked in her house, after having been at the mall with Troy, and went straight to the kitchen. Not bothering to say hi to Ryan, who was sitting in the living room, watching TV.

"Hi, Shar." Ryan said, getting up from his spot on the couch and walking into kitchen after her.

"Hello, Ryan," she said, searching the freezer for some chocolate ice cream, still not bothering to look back at her brother.

"Where were you?" he asked.

Sharpay pulled a carton of ice cream and sat it on the table. "With Troy."

"Really? And you're not prancing around, talking about giddily about how it was the best day of your life?" he asked. Sharpay considered everyday she spent with Troy to be the best day of her life.

"Nope," she said, shoving a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

"What happened?" Ryan asked, sensing something was wrong.

"Nothing happened. That's the problem," Sharpay answered, stabbing the bottom of the ice cream carton with her spoon. It was empty. "Damn," she mumbled, throwing the carton in the trash.

"What did Troy do?" he asked, using his tough big brother voice, which cause Sharpay to roll her eyes. As if, Ryan would actually _do_ anything to Troy; he wouldn't hurt a fly.

"It's not what he did. It's what he didn't do." When Ryan looked confused, she added "He didn't ask me to be his girlfriend."

Ryan still looked confused. "Was he supposed to?"

"Yes, he was supposed to!" Sharpay yelled. "He implied that when either me or Gabriella got a boyfriend, he would ask the other girl out. Gabriella has been dating Jason for a week, and Troy hasn't ask me out yet!"

"Well, maybe he's just waiting for the right time."

"The right time? The right time is right now! Seriously. He could call on the phone right now, and ask me. But is he going to? No! And do you know why? Because he'd rather torture me!"

"I'm sure, Troy doesn't know that he's torturing you," he said. "Here's an idea: You ask him out."

Sharpay looked at her brother like he was a mental case. "I…can't…do…that," she said, nearly choking each word. How could Ryan suggest something like that? Was he insane?

* * *

_Okay, was that an awkward place to cut off? So sorry, if it was. (:_

_Oh, & I just re-read this chapter, it turns out: I actually __don't__ like it ;] LOL. It's about ten times better than last chapter though._


	14. Chapter 14

_To everyone who has been reading, reviewing, putting me on story/author alert: I LOVE YOU ALL IMMENSELY MUCH! :D You are my inspiration, my perspiration, my tire inflation! :] *makes all of you my new best friends* Haha. _

_**Disclaimer: **__Dude, I still don't own this stuff. okay? If I did, trust me, I would not be writing on FanFiction. I would be out on an island or something somewhere, with Zac Efron :]_

* * *

"Please, Ry," Sharpay begged her brother. She was trying to get him to talk to Troy, about asking her out.

"No," he said, for about the hundredth time today.

"Please, please, please. With a cherry on top."

Ryan made a face. "I don't even like cherries."

"Oh. Well, do it anyway."

"No," he said.

"Please. I swear, I'll never ask you do to for anything for me, ever again."

"That's what you always say, right before asking me to do something for you."

Sharpay didn't comment on that, knowing that it was the truth, "Please, Ryan. If Troy never asks me out, then we'll never get married. Then I'll grow old alone."

"Not necessarily. I mean, you could marry someone else."

Sharpay blinked, but decided not reply to that comment. "Are you going to talk to him or not?"

"Not."

"Ryaann!" she whined.

"Fine. I'll do it," he finally gave in.

"Yay," she squealed, happily. "You should ask him before second period or after lunch, right when he's on his way to the bathroom. Actually, wait until he comes out the bathroom, because he won't be able to concentrate on your saying if his bladder is full."

"Right, whatever," Ryan said, barely paying any attention.

"Or you could just wait until after school, he always stays at his locker for, at least, five minutes before he goes out to the parking lot, where he'll wait another ten minutes before actually driving off."

Ryan blinked. "How do you know all this?"

She shrugged. "I'm his best friend. I pay attention to this stuff.

"Right. And are best friend and stalker the same thing?"

--

After lunch, Ryan went to go talk to Troy, who was walking out of the bathroom, like Sharpay said he would be.

"Hello Troy," Ryan said as Troy started to pass by him.

"Hey Ryan," he said. "Do you know where your sister is?"

"Yes, but I need to talk you."

"Okay…"

"So, Sharpay wanted me to ask you some stuff?"

Troy raised an eyebrow. "What stuff?"

"Well, I'm just going to right out and say it. And paying attention, because I'm only saying this once. Sharpay wants to know when you're going to ask her out, because she said that you said that when Gabriella got a boyfriend that you would. Ask her out, I mean. So, are going to ask her or what? Because it's unfair for you to lead her on, if nothing's going to happen. Plus, she's bugging the hell out of me."

**Meanwhile…**

Gabriella comes around the corner and stops when she hears Troy and Ryan talking.

"Is it because you still like Gabriella?" she heard Ryan ask.

"No. I mean, I like Brie, but that's not why," Troy's voice said.

'_What? Troy likes me? When did this happen? Sharpay told me he didn't… Ugh, that scum-faced liar.' _Gabriella stormed off, angrily, in the other direction, without bothering to listen to the rest of their conversation.

**Back to Troy and Ryan…**

"So, why then?" Ryan questioned.

"Because I wasn't really sure what she would say, if I asked her," Troy admitted.

"Well, I'm telling you now, she's going to say yes. So, go ask her."

--

"Shar, I need to talk to you about something," Troy said, meeting her later, after school.

"What is it?" she asked, even though, she already knew what he wanted to ask, because Ryan told her.

"Well…um. You see…," Troy stammered, suddenly getting very nervous.

"Troy, stop stammering and get to the point!" she squealed, impatiently. She wanted him to hurry up and ask her out already. She only seconds away, from what she was sure was going to be, the happiest moment of her life. Besides, the day of her and Troy's wedding, which wouldn't happen for at least another five years.

"Oh, sorry," he muttered.

"Troy, this is easy. Just say, 'Shar, would you like to be my girlfriend?'"

Troy looked at her, confused. "Wait. How did you know that's what I was going to ask?"

"I just know. Now ask!" Sharpay snapped, still feeling impatient.

"But since, you already know, why should I still have to ask?" he asked. "You can just give me your answer."

"Fine. Just pretend that I don't know."

"But you do know."

Sharpay sighed. "Are you stalling on purpose?"

"No. I just don't understand why I have to ask, when you already know."

"Because I want to be able to write about this moment in my diary, and so far, nothing has happened that is worth writing about."

"Will this be worth writing about?" He asked, just before placing a sweet kiss on Sharpay's lips.

**A few seconds later…**

"So, are you going to ask me to be your girlfriend or what?" Sharpay asked.

Troy stared at her, incredulously. "I still have to ask?"

"Yes."

"But I thought it was already understood, when I kissed you."

"It was. But I still want to be asked."

"Why?"

Sharpay sighed. "Never mind, Trojan. You can ask me later."

_

* * *

_

_TROYPAY! YAY! (: Yeah, so they're __**together**__ now (even though, Troy hasn't officially asked. God, why does he have to be so darn difficult? Makes me wonder what it's gonna be like, if Troy ever tries to propose :D) And look, they've already started their bickering, like old married couples do ;D_

_And enjoy the Troypayness, while it lasts, because as you saw -- erm, read -- Gabriella knows about how Sharpay lied to her and whatnot. And she's, most likely, going to be a black cloud and rain on everyone's parade D:_


	15. Chapter 15

_GAH! So sorry, about the wait on this chapter. *apologizes a hundred times* :[ _

_& I know, you probably don't want to hear the "I've been really busy, I have a lot of homework" excuse. But I have to work super hard on my grades, these days. Because the principal at my school decided it would be oh so dandy if they could put our grades on the school website. Yes. My report card grades are plastered all over the internet (well, actually, you can't see the grades without a password, but still). So now, my parents can check my grades everyday! Arggh! How traumatic!_

_Anyhoo, enjoy this chapter (: WARNING: the first part of this chapter contains some Troypay fluff :D_

_Btw, I was kinda in a hurry, when writing certain parts of this. So, sorry, if there are any grammatical errors or anything._

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own High School Musical [;_

* * *

"Hey Trojan," Sharpay said, walking over to her boyfriend's locker.

_Her boyfriend. _It felt great for Sharpay, to be able to say that. She had been able to call Troy that for the past week. True, Troy still hadn't actually asked her out, but it was understood by everyone that they were together.

"Hello," Troy said, smiling, when he saw her.

"Hi," Sharpay mumbled, before pulling him in for a hug.

As she hugged him, she took the opportunity to smell his neck. He smelled good to her. He smelled like soap. Maybe Dove. Dove mixed in with his own special Troy smell. It was nice.

Sharpay was interrupted from smelling her boyfriend, when Ryan walked by, muttering something that sounded like, "No PDA in the hallway." Which caused Sharpay to give him a dirty look as she broke off her hug with Troy.

"Don't worry, Shar. We can display our affection for each other, later," Troy whispered in Sharpay's ear, which caused her to get all giddy.

If she were to die right now, she wouldn't even mind so much, because she gotten what she wanted. Troy was her boyfriend and she would live everyday, from now on, in complete blissful happiness.

--

Gabriella watched Troy and Sharpay talking in the hallway, before class. It made her sick to see them together. Some may say it didn't make sense for her to be jealous, since she had her own boyfriend. But she couldn't help it.

"Hey Gabby," Jason said, coming up behind her.

"Oh, Jason. Hi," Gabriella said, in a distracted voice, for she was still shooting daggers at Sharpay and Troy. Well, at Sharpay, anyway.

"So, I was thinking —"

"Can you believe Troy and Sharpay are actually together?" Gabriella asked, cutting her boyfriend off in mid-sentence.

"I'm not that surprised. Troy told me he wanted to ask her out."

Gabriella's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "What? When did this happen?!"

Jason shrugged. "I don't remember."

"Why didn't you warn me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ugh, never mind," she said, before storming off to class.

--

Sharpay was in the girls' bathroom, brushing her hair, when Gabriella walked in.

"Hello, Sharpay," Gabriella said.

"Gabriella," Sharpay answered, sounding uninterested.

"So, you and Troy are together?"

"Yeah," Sharpay said, continuing to brush her hair. She obviously didn't really want to talk to Gabriella, but she quite have the energy to ignore her either. "Would you please go ahead and say whatever you want to say?"

"I know, you lied to me," Gabriella said, suddenly. "About Troy. You told me he didn't like me. I know it was a lie."

Sharpay raised an eyebrow. "So? What's your point?"

"My point is that Troy is only going out with _you_, because _I'm_ with Jason. And the only reason I'm with Jason is, because you lied to me."

Sharpay blinked. "Are you saying that if you weren't already taken, that Troy would've asked you out, instead of me?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Gabriella said, smirking.

"I think that's stupid."

"Yeah, well, it's still the truth. Whether you like it or not." And with that, Gabriella turned on her heel and walked out of the bathroom.

--

"Ryan, it's not true, is it?" Sharpay asked her brother, in the hallway, during lunch.

"What's not true?"

"That Troy really wants to be with Gabriella, but he can't have her because she's with Jason. And now, he's only with me to soothe his broken heart, but as soon as Gabriella and Jason break up, he's gonna drop me like a hot tamale, and he and her are gonna get married straight out of high school. And then I'll be alone, and I'll never find love again. I'll just wallow in my self-pity. And I'll have to live with you, but when you get married and have kids, you'll kick me out of the house, and I'll have to sleep in the basement."

Ryan hesitated and blinked at her a few times, clearly caught off guard by everything his sister had just said. "Uh, wait. What was the question?"

Just then, Troy came and stood next to Sharpay. "Hey Shar," he said, right before kissing her cheek.

"Hey Troy," she said, feeling a bit uneasy. It probably something to do with the fact, that she was just explaining to her brother that she thinks that he's only dating her as replacement for someone he can't have.

"So, what's up?" Troy asked.

"Er, nothing," she answered, glancing over at Ryan, who was giving her a strange look.

"She's freaking out, because she thinks that you'd rather be with Gabriella, instead of with her," Ryan blabbed.

"Ryan!" Sharpay shrieked. How could he say that?! Out loud. With Troy, standing right there!

Troy was giving Sharpay a weird look right about now, and she could feel his blue eyes, piercing into her soul.

"Well, I better get going now. You guys, just go ahead and talk," Ryan said, before hurrying off towards the cafeteria.

As she watched Ryan walk away, she still felt Troy's eyes on her. His eyes must've really hurt, because he wasn't blinking. Sharpay shifted uncomfortably in her chair, trying to avoid Troy's menacing gaze.

"Troy, can you please say something?" Sharpay asked after about five minutes. "Or at least, _blink_. Your incessant staring, plus your silence, is freaking me out."

"You were being silent, too," is all Troy said in response. But Sharpay noticed, he still hadn't blinked.

"Yeah, well, that's because I was waiting for you to tell whether or not it's true. About you wanting to be with Gabriella."

"No."

Sharpay blinked at him. _No? Is that all he's gonna say? NO? _"No, what?"

"No, I don't want to be with Gabriella."

"You don't?"

"Nope. Which, reminds me, I still haven't officially asked you out yet. So…Sharpay Evans, will you be my girlfriend?"

'_YES! YES! A HUNDRED MILLION BILLION TIMES: YES!'_ is what Sharpay felt like saying. But instead, she kept her cool and said, "I'll call you later and tell you 'yes', because if I say it right now, that will make me seem too eager."

"Okay," Troy said, smiling.

_

* * *

_

_I swear, I was somewhat tempted to end the story here (you know, with Troy finally asking Sharpay out and whatnot.). But that would leave too many unanswered questions, I think. Like Gabriella, don't we want to know what happens with her? Anyway, I think we may need more drama before I end it :D so, I'm thinking I'll have maybe 3-5 more chapters before I finish._

_& again, sorry for the wait on this chapter. I'll start on the next chapter, pronto! :D_


	16. Chapter 16

_So, I took forever to update again, didn't I? Sorry about that. But I'm here now ;D_

_**Disclaimer: **__Nope, I haven't updated in about a month & I still don't own HSM. But I did have this dream, in which, I owned Zac Efron :D What a lovely dream, it was (: Too bad I woke up._

* * *

"Ryan. I'm happy," Sharpay said, skipping over to him in the school hallway.

"Really? Because from the way you were prancing around your bedroom this morning, singing 'I'm so happy. I'm so happy.' over and over, I never would've guessed," Ryan said, sarcastically.

"You're just jealous, Ry. Because you've never been happy."

Ryan looked offended. "How can you say I've never been happy?"

"Name one time you've been truly happy."

"Well, just last week, I got a 99 on my English test…"

"Oh, please. That doesn't count."

Ryan looked at her, incredulously. "Why not?"

"It just doesn't. And don't say anything else about it. You're killing my happy mood."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "I'd ask why you're so happy, but I'm afraid that the only answer I'm gonna get will be a very detailed fluffy description of how much you love Troy."

"I can't that I love him, Ry. The past twelve days we've spent together have been the most magical of my life. He is my sole reason for living, the purpose for which my heart beats—"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," Ryan said, cutting his sister off, for he had heard this all before. "Where is Troy, anyway?"

"Over there," Sharpay said, looking over at Troy, who was standing a few lockers down, trying to fit all his books inside. He smiled at Sharpay, when he noticed her looking at him.

"Right. And why aren't you over there?" Ryan asked his sister.

"Because I'm talking to you, silly. I can't just leave you, that would be rude," Sharpay replied, in a 'duh' tone.

"Since when do you have a problem with being rude?"

"Hmm, you're right," Sharpay said, before walking away from her brother and toward Troy. "Hey there," she said to Troy, when she was standing right next to him.

"Hi Shar," said Troy, before kissing his girlfriend's cheek.

"So," Sharpay said, instinctively grabbing hold of Troy's hand. "What are we doing after school today?"

Troy was about to answer but was interrupted by Gabriella walking over to them, with a weird smile on her face. "Hello, Troy. Sharpay."

"Hey," Troy and Sharpay muttered at the same time.

"So, how are you guys doing?" Gabriella asked.

"Gabriella, why don't you go hang out with your boyfriend or something?" Sharpay asked, not wanting to talk to Gabriella.

"Jason? Oh, I got rid of him," Gabriella said.

"Why?" Troy asked.

"Because I was kind of hoping that you and I could go out, Troy," Gabriella said, smirking. Which caused Sharpay to fidget uncomfortably in her place.

Troy narrowed his eyes at her. "No thanks, Gabriella."

"Why not?" Gabriella asked, frowning.

"Because I'm taken," Troy said, holding up his hand, which was still holding Sharpay's.

"So…?" she asked, her gaze riveting on Sharpay. And just so you know, it wasn't a very friendly gaze either.

"So, go back to Jason or whoever. Because I'm not interested."

Gabriella pouted. "Fine, Troy, just be that way. I'll ask you again later, when _she_'s not around," she said. Then after one final glare at Sharpay, she turned around and walked away.

"Troy, you can go be with Gabriella, if you want," Sharpay spoke up as soon as Gabriella was out of earshot.

"Why would I do that?" he asked.

"Because she wants you."

"But I want you."

This caused Sharpay to blush uncontrollably. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, very much so." Troy brought his face closer to Sharpay's and kissed her lightly. Sharpay kissed him back, happily.

--

Sharpay was walking on her way out of the school building, after the school day had ended, when she notice someone following her. She turned to see who it was. "Gabriella, what do you want? Can't you just leave me alone?"

"I need you to break up with Troy," Gabriella said.

Sharpay's eyes widened in shock. "What?"

"If you break up with him, then he'll be sad and then he won't mind going with me."

"You are insane. Why would I break up with Troy, for your benefit?"

"Because. Well, remember that time when we were pretending friends?"

"Yeah…" Sharpay said, remembering horribly that had ended.

"Well, if you break up with Troy, I'll _really _be your friend."

"Ugh, no. Get lost, Gabriella."

* * *

_Sorry. This chapter is kinda blah. _

_And, basically, Gabriella is a borderline psychopath ;] I mean, does she seriously think Sharpay would dump Troy? Blah, she's so stupid. ;D_

_Anyhow, I need your guys' opinions. How should I end this story? I think I'm only gonna about 3 more chapters, so yeah, what do you guys think should happen? If you have ideas, tell me, when you review :]_


	17. Chapter 17

_I totally could've posted this chapter two weeks ago, but I was vacationing in New York :D_

_& did you guys see on Zac on Saturday Night Live, on the 11th? He was so adorable :] Although, my opinion is biased, because I always think he's adorable._

_Also, did anyone see '17 Again'? Did you like it? I saw it on opening day. I thought it was alright. It probably could've been a lot better. But I'd still consider it a good movie, because I got to stare at Zac for an hour and a half :D_

_And I have 93 reviews on this story, as of now. So hopefully, after this chapter, I get to 100! :D_

_**Disclaimer: **__Okay, here we go for the 17th__ time; I don't own High School Musical. Or Sharpay. Or Gabriella. Or Troy (*sighs* some dreams just don't come true :'[). And blah, blah, whatever, whatever. -End of disclaimer-_

_

* * *

_

"You should know, I really don't like Gabriella," Sharpay tells Troy as they sit in the cafeteria, at school, during lunchtime.

"I already knew that." "And it's okay, because I don't like her much anymore, either."

"She asked me to break up with you…"

Troy looked at her incredulously. "Are you going to?"

"No. Of course not," Sharpay nearly shouted. The thought of actually breaking up with Troy had never crossed her mind.

"Oh, okay. That's good. Because if you were, I might've started crying or something," Troy admitted.

"Boys don't cry, Trojan."

"Haven't you seen Ryan cry?" Troy asked.

"Oh, he doesn't count. Sometimes I'm not even sure if Ryan is a boy."

"Hey! I can hear you!" Ryan called out from his seat the opposite of the table that Troy and Sharpay were sitting at.

"Oh, hey Ryan," Troy said, noticing him for the first time. "When did you get here?"

"I can hear you guys talking about me," said Ryan.

"We weren't talking about you. If you were really any good at eavesdropping, you would know that" Sharpay pointed out.

"I was not eavesdropping. I'm sitting less than two feet away from you, and it's not exactly like you were whispering."

"See, Ry? This is why we question if you're a boy or not. You're much too whiny."

"I'm not whiny."

"You _are_ a bit whiny," Troy interjects.

"Shut up, Troy."

"Don't talk to my Trojan like that," Sharpay scolds her brother. Then turns to Troy and says "Come on. Let's go talk about Ryan somewhere else." Then she grabs his hand and they proceed to walk out of the cafeteria.

"Oh, so you _were_ talking about me?" Ryan calls after them. "And I am not whiny!"

--

"Hey Troy," Gabriella says, when she visits him at his locker at after school.

Troy didn't respond.

"Troy. Is there a certain reason you've been avoiding me ever since you started dating Sharpay?" she asked.

"Yes. Because you are insane," Troy muttered.

"But we used to be best friends?"

"That was before you became insane."

"It's not my fault that you got jealous when I started dating Jason." **(AN- notice how she doesn't defend herself when Troy calls her insane. it means she's aware of her insanity ;])**

"I was never —"

"But it's okay, because I dumped him. So we can be together now," Gabriella said, grabbing Troy's hand, only to have him pull it away.

"What part of 'I'm with Sharpay' do you not understand?"

And so then, Gabriella, out of nowhere, smashed her lips against Troy's. **(AN- yuck. haha x]) **

Troy then struggles to push her away, but not before a certain blonde-haired girl walks by at that exact moment and witnesses the kiss. She then proceeds to run away crying, before either Troy or Gabriella notice she was even there.

* * *

_This ending of this chapter made me sad :'( *cries a river of tears* I'm sure, we all know who the 'certain blonde-haired girl' is. (Hint: It's not Ryan :D)_

_And so you guys know, the next chapter I post will probably be the last. *cries another river* :[_

_Sorry this chapter is so short. The next one will be longer, I promise._


	18. Chapter 18

_I'm ultra pleased with how this chapter came out :] I wrote it entirely in SHARPAY'S POINT OF VIEW. Isn't that nice? Now, we can see the inner workings of her brain :D And just so you know, this chapter starts off right when she witnesses the Troy/Gabriella smooch._

_And I changed my mind, this chapter is NOT the last. _

_**Disclaimer: **__!$%^&* I don't own HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL :] or the song 'Hey Stephen' by Taylor Swift (kinda wish I did, though. It's an amazing song :D)_

_

* * *

_

I'm trying to convince myself that what I just saw wasn't real. That I was hallucinating. But I'm way too freaked out to go back and look again.

And if I had seen what I thought I saw, then it was better that I didn't go back.

I ran away from there so quick, I nearly passed up Ryan on my way out of the school.

"Hey Shar— Whoa, what happened?" he said, when he saw me.

I guess the 'what happened?' part was a reaction to seeing my tear-stained face, but I didn't care. My heart had just been ripped out, I didn't care about anything anymore.

I didn't respond when he asked if I was okay. I just grabbed him by his arm and instinctively dragged him towards the car. "Ow, Shar. You're gonna rip my arm out of it's socket," Ryan whined.

So what, Ryan? At least, you could still actually live without an arm. I may never make it through the night, without a _heart_.

--

_**The next day…**_

This is how Ryan greeted me, when he came in my bedroom this morning: "Sharpay, why the hell are you still in bed?"

I guess it was valid question, considering we only had 15 minutes to get to school and I was still lying in bed in Hello Kitty pajamas. But he could've asked a little nicer.

"I'm not going to school," I said to him.

"Are you sick?"

"Yes," I answered. Which wasn't a lie, because I am sick. My heart is sick. And my eyes hurt from crying so much last night. So, why should I cause myself anymore pain by going back to school?

Especially when I know that if I go to school, I'll have to face _him_. As well as, _her_.

Even though, I honestly never liked her. I always knew she would steal him away. I always knew she was a gypsy.

--

"God, you're still in bed?" was Ryan's way of greeting me when he got home from school today.

"Yes. Nice to see you, too, Ryan," I responded flatly, as I readjusted my pillow under my head. I hadn't moved from my bed since he left.

Except maybe twice, to use the bathroom. But right after that, I'd climbed right back in bed.

"So, how was school?" I asked, even though I didn't really care. I almost wished he would go away, so I could go back to sleep. It was so peaceful, while he was gone.

"Alright, I guess," Ryan said, taking a seat on my bed.

Great. Now he'll never leave.

"Everyone was wondering where you were," Ryan continued. "Especially Troy."

_Troy. _I'm not sure why but just the sound of his name made me cringe. Which is way different from the way his name used to make me feel… blissfully happy. But that was before he ripped my heart out…

Oh shoot. I think Ryan noticed my cringe. He's giving me a weird look.

He was about to say something, when the chorus of the song 'Hey Stephen' by Taylor Swift suddenly filled the air.

'_Cause I can't help it if you look like angel. Can't help it if I wanna kiss you in the rain so'_

My phone was ringing. And there was no way I was answering it.

'_Come feel this magic, I've been feeling since I met you. Can't help it if there's no one else'_

I already knew who it was on the other end, because my phone only rang that way when a certain person was calling.

"RYAN! DON'T!" I shouted, as he proceeded to answer the phone.

But Ryan ignored my plea, and answered it anyway. "Hello?…Oh, hey Troy…Yeah, she's here…"

Then he handed me the phone, and left the room. I wondered if Troy had told him something that caused him to leave. I took the phone, held it up to my ear.

"Shar? Are you there?" Troy asked, from the other end of the line.

It's amazing how his voice still made my heart flutter, even now when I had almost convinced myself that I didn't love him anymore.

But honestly, the thought of not loving him anymore made me want to cry.

"Troy, I don't want to talk…" I said, hoping he could tell from my voice that I was on the verge of tears.

"Why? What's wrong? … Are you crying?" he asked.

"No," I lied.

"Wait. I'm coming over there," he said.

"What?! Now?" I squealed.

"Yes. Now."

--

"Sharpay. Troy is here," Ryan called out, from outside my bedroom door.

"I know, that's why the door is locked," I yelled back at him.

I had gotten up and locked the door, as soon as I hung up the phone. No way was Troy coming in here. I didn't want to see him.

I could hear some muffled sounds coming from outside the door. My guess was that Troy was standing there and Ryan was telling him that my door was locked.

"Sharpay." It was Troy's voice this time. "Will you open the door, please?

Surprisingly, I did as he asked. His voice is just so much more persuasive than Ryan's. It's quite sickening how much power his presence still has over me, even when I'm supposedly mad at him.

Only it's so much easier to be mad at Troy when he's nowhere around, as oppose to when he's standing at your doorway.

"Why did you lock me out?" he asked, as walked into my room.

It was a good question. Why did I lock him out? I'd already forgotten. I obviously wanted him in here. Otherwise, I wouldn't have opened the door when he asked. And, if I didn't want him here, I wouldn't have this budding urge inside of me right now, to jump into his arms and stay there until the day I died.

But then, I remembered what he did. And that I was upset about it.

"Because I didn't want to see you," I finally responded.

"You mean, you didn't want me to see you crying?"

"No. That's not what I meant," I said, with a little more force than I'd intended.

Troy seemed way taken aback by that remark. He looked away from me and glanced towards the window, like he was trying to decide whether or not he should make a leap for it.

I really hoped that he wouldn't. I mean, I don't think my room is high enough off the ground where he could actually die from jumping out the window. But I still didn't want him to get hurt.

But I didn't say anything to him, because I'm supposed to be mad at him.

I am mad at him.

At least, I think I am.

"Why didn't you want see me?" he asked, sounding miserable. He wasn't looking at the window anymore, though. Thank god.

"Because I'm mad at you," I said, not sure who I was trying to convince: him or myself.

"Why?"

I hesitated to answer. I knew why I was mad at him. All I had to do was say it. But this was when I realized that I had never actually admitted, not even to myself, what I'd seen yesterday.

"Because you kissed Gabriella," I said in a hurry to get it over with.

Troy looked alarmed. "I did?"

"Yes, you did." When he still looked alarmed, I continued. "I saw you. Yesterday. You guys didn't notice me, but I was there…"

This was when my tears began to fall again, and my voice started trailing off.

"Sharpay…"

"Stop talking," I tried to yell, but when I choked it, it was barely louder than a whisper.

"But you don't understand. I didn't…it was Gabriella."

"Go away."

"You want me to leave?" he asked.

"Yes. Unless, you have another definition for 'go away'."

He didn't say anything for a while. He just stood there, looking towards the window again. And then after a minute passed, he said, "Okay, I'll go."

And right before he walked out of the room—before I could even make any attempt to run after him and tell him that I was sorry, before I could utter a single word to a visibly stricken Ryan who had watched the entire scene from outside my door—Troy muttered the words "I'm sorry."

And, then, right before my disbelieving eyes, a tear leaked from his eyes and dripped onto the floor.

* * *

_So, this chapter was ultra depressing. Wasn't it? :[ It made me sad. Poor Troy. Poor Sharpay. Poor Ryan, for almost having his arm ripped off. Poor Gabriella, for being so insane (even though, she wasn't even in this chapter)._

_And Troy actually cried D; He said he would cry, if Shar ever broke up with him, & he did. How tragic._


	19. Chapter 19

_I'm sorry, a million times, for taking forever and a day to update. My laptop was pretty much dead D; But thanks to a very lovely tech guy named Adam, it has been resurrected! YAY! :D_

_& just so you know: I was lacking inspiration, so this chapter is kind of lame. LOL. :D_

_**Disclaimer: **__Nope. I still don't own HSM. _

_

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_

"I categorically refuse to believe that Troy would ever do something like that," Ryan insisted, after Sharpay finally confided in him about what happened with Troy.

"Well, what else could he possibly have been doing, that would've involved his lips to be _that _close to Gabriella's?" Sharpay asked, with a sarcastic tone.

"I don't know, maybe she had something on her mouth and—"

"And what? He was trying to lick it off?" Sharpay finished her brother's thought. She cringed after she said it. _Ew. _The very thought of that was disgusting.

"No. That's not what I was going to say," Ryan muttered. "But I still don't believe that Troy actually did anything. He said that Gabriella forced herself on him. And I believe him. I mean, doesn't that sound like a highly likely thing for Gabriella to have done?"

Sharpay didn't answer right away. On one hand, she knew that it _was_ likely that Gabriella had been the one making all the moves. But on the other hand, what if it was Troy did kiss Gabriella? Even so, he had cried when Sharpay broke up with him, so whether the kiss was his doing or not, he was obviously sorry about it... "I don't know what to do, Ry."

"Well, if you're asking me for advice, I say you should call Troy," Ryan suggested.

Sharpay perked up, a little. She'd liked that idea. She so wanted to hear Troy's voice… "But I should I say to him?"

Ryan shrugged, "I don't know. I already told you to call him. That's all I've got. I can only give so much advice in one night."

"Well, you're no help at all," Sharpay muttered, as she picked her phone up off her bedside table, with intentions of calling Troy. "Now get out of here, Ry. I want to talk to Troy in peace," she said, shooing her brother out off her room.

"But I—"

"No 'buts', mister. Get out," she said, as she literally shoved him out of the room and locked the door behind him.

Sharpay then picked up her phone, and quickly dialed Troy's number. She patiently waited for him to answer, only to be disheartened when she heard his voicemail pick up.

"_Hey, this is Troy. I'm either nowhere near my phone right now or I'm just ignoring your call, because I don't want to talk to you. Haha. Anyway, you know what to do after the beep."_

Sharpay froze while listening to Troy's voicemail message. "_I'm just ignoring your call because I don't want to talk to you_" That wasn't directed towards her, was it? Did he not want to talk to her? She quickly tried to shake that thought from her mind. That was ridiculous. Troy's voicemail message had always sounded like that… Hadn't it?

"Hi Troy. I'm not sure why I'm calling you. I'm only doing it because Ryan told me to. Well, that's not completely true. I just wanted hear voice, honestly, but since you're not answering your phone… Uh, that voicemail message isn't directed towards me, is it? No, it isn't. I didn't think so.

Well, I did, but… you know what, this message is pointless. I'm going to hang up now." Which she was fully about to do, before she remembered that she had forgotten something. "This is Sharpay, by the way. You probably already knew that." Then she hung up the phone and threw it on the floor.

--

Sharpay walked into school the next day, ready to questioned like crazy about where she had been for the past two days. She decided that she had cut herself off from the outside world for long enough. Well, not really. She was only at school because Ryan had practically dragged out of bed. And she didn't quite have the energy to fight him.

Plus, there was that whole wanting-to-talk-to-Troy-and-apologize-for-flipping-out-on-him-two-days-ago thing. Not to mention, the wanting-to-kill-Gabriella-for-kissing-him thing.

Sharpay was on her way to her locker, when she noticed Troy standing next to his own locker. She was slightly surprised to find that Gabriella wasn't there with him. She would've thought that Gabriella would be clinging to him like static, since Sharpay had not been around for the past couple of days.

"Hey Troy," Sharpay said, as she stopped by his locker.

He stared at her blankly for a moment or two, before he answered, "Hi." Sharpay noticed his voice sounded terribly dry, as if he had been living in a desert and hadn't had any water in days. She couldn't understand why his voice sounded that way, but she guessed that it had something to do with her.

At that exact moment, Gabriella appeared—seemingly out of thin air, Sharpay thought—next to Troy. It seems Sharpay might have been right about the clinging thing.

"Hello Troy," Gabriella said, giddily, only to receive the same dry-sounding "hi" that Sharpay got.

Gabriella's smile faltered a bit, but she quickly perked herself back up before she turned to look at Sharpay. "Where have you been the past two days?" she asked. Even though, Sharpay guessed, she probably really couldn't have cared less and was only being nice because Troy was standing less than a foot away.

"I had the flu," she lied smoothly, then quickly averted her towards Troy, who knew the true reason why she hadn't been in. She silently wondered whether or not he'd told Gabriella. But Troy gave no clue as to if he had told her or not, for he wasn't even paying attention to either Sharpay or Gabriella. He seemed to find a greater interest in a wall, at which he was intently staring at.

"Oh really?" Gabriella asked, her voice drenched with fake concern.

Sharpay nodded, in response to her. But her eyes were still fixated on Troy. His silence was making her nervous. And what made her even more nervous was the fact that Gabriella didn't seem too bothered by it. As if it was normal for him, to be focusing all his energy on staring at the wall.

"What did you do to Troy?" she asked, cautiously.

Gabriella seemed to be thrown off by the question, but all she answered with was "Huh?"

"You used you're weird gypsy voodoo on him, didn't you?" Sharpay nearly screamed, causing a few people in the hallway to stare.

"Oh. You mean when I kissed him?" Gabriella asked, with a smug look on her face. She had said this to make Sharpay upset, and it had certainly worked. And even though she had already known about the kiss that Gabriella was referring to and had mentally forgiven Troy for it, it still made her heart break.

"Why isn't he talking, Gabriella? What did you to him?" Sharpay asked. She'd done right by deciding to not comment on what Gabriella had just said, for she was already on the verge of tears. Ryan really shouldn't have made her come to school today…

Pretty much everyone in the hallway was watching them now. Even Troy had taken a short break from his staring contest with the wall, to glance quickly in their direction.

Gabriella shook her head. "Sharpay. I didn't do anything thing to him, except give him what he wanted. I mean, it's not like he was going to get it from you. You don't exactly _put out_."

Then before either of them knew what was happening, Gabriella felt a sharp pain in her cheek.

Sharpay had slapped her, hard.

* * *

_Yeah, so Serena/HeSaidSheSaidx wanted Gabriella to get bitch-slapped… and there it was. Are you happy now? Haha. ;D_

_Oh. And if you're wondering what was going on with Troy & the wall... honestly I have no idea. haha. Like I said before, I was lacking inspiration. But I guess, it's safe to say that he's acting like that, because he's still distraught from Sharpay breaking up with him & whatnot._


	20. Chapter 20

_IMPORTANT: I know I've given very many false alarms about this before, but this chapter is absolutely and inevitably __**the last**__. And I'd like to apologize beforehand about how terrible this chapter is, especially as ending chapter. It's horribly written. Or at least, I think it's horrible. But who knows? You guys might like it.  
I also apologize for any grammatic errors, or anything like that, you may find while reading._

_ fun fact: I think this is my longest chapter that I've ever written. ;D_

_**Disclaimer: **__For the last time, I do not—nor will I ever—own High School Musical._

_

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_

"...and so you see, it was all Barbie's fault."

Sharpay scoffed, ever so silently, at Gabriella's lame explanation. Both girls were sitting in the principal's office to receive their punishment for, as Principal Matsui had put it, "disrupting the blissful peace of East High's hallways".

You see, everything had gone down hill after Sharpay slapped Gabriella. Gabriella had slapped her back, and thirty seconds later, they were rolling around the floor, beating the crap out of each other. It had all happened so fast. The next thing they knew, they were in the principal's office. Neither of them knew had they had gotten there, but here they were.

Troy was there, also, sitting as far to the back of the office as he possibly could. He was still being as silent as ever, although the blank stare he had worn before, was now replaced with a look of terror. He was horrified. And who could blame him for being so? He had just witnessed two girls he knows and loves, pouncing on each other like wild animals. Who wouldn't be horrified?

Even _I'm_ horrified.

"Troy." His head snapped up at the sound of the principal calling his name. "You weren't involved in this fight, were you?"

He didn't say anything, but he shook his head. As if that wasn't obvious. He still looked as perfect as he had went he walked into school that morning. Not a hair was out of place.

Sharpay and Gabriella, on the other hand, looked… well, you know, how people usually look after getting in a fight.

"Of course, Troy wasn't in the fight," Sharpay spoke up, holding an ice pack to her forehead. "Why would he get into a fight with two girls? That would be stupid." Which brought about the magic question, in Sharpay's head: Why the hell was Troy even in there?

Principal Matsui must've been asking himself the same question, because he then said: "Okay, Troy, you're done here. You may go back to class."

Troy didn't move. He didn't want to go back to class. Why on earth would he want to go back to class? Everyone would be staring at him, for they knew he was of the cause of Sharpay and Gabriella's grudge match.

"He can't leave. He's a witness," Gabriella squeaked. "He saw Barbie hit me first."

"For the love of God, stop calling me that," Sharpay said, more to herself than to Gabriella. She then shifted in her seat to turn at look at Troy. He was looking back her. He _had_ seen Barb—uh, I mean, _Sharpay_, hit Gabriella first. And if the principal asked him about it, he would have to tell the truth and say so, wouldn't he?

"Is this true? Did Sharpay start the fight?"

When Troy took to long to answer, Gabriella snapped her head back in his direction and stared him down, and gave him a if-you-don't-tell him-that-Blondie-started-the-fight-I'm-going-to-kill-you look. Which caused Troy to fidget in his seat slightly, but he still didn't said anything.

Why hadn't he just left and gone to class, when he had the chance?

--

Troy, Gabriella and Sharpay had finally been let out of the principal's office, after being forced to most of the day in there. Principal Matsui had given both Sharpay and Gabriella detention for the next two months and since Troy was being uncooperative wouldn't tell which one of them had started the fight, he'd gotten detention as well.

Which Sharpay thought was stupid, but she didn't say anything in fear of getting in even more trouble.

They were let of the office right before fifth period and while Gabriella had then proceeded to go right to class, Troy and Sharpay were still wandering around in the hallways.

They weren't exactly walking together, though. Troy was several paces ahead of Sharpay and she was just following him, because she wanted to know where he was going. **(A/N- stalker alert. LOL ;D)** And if Troy had noticed that she was following him, he certainly didn't seem to mind.

After walking around aimlessly for about fifteen minutes, Troy suddenly stopped when he got to a staircase and sat down on the steps. Perhaps, all that walking had made him tired.

Sharpay was still confused as to why they had been walking around for the past fifteen minutes but nevertheless sat down next to him. "Hey Troy, thanks for not telling. You know, about me starting the fight."

Troy didn't say anything but nodded in acknowledgement, just to let her know he had heard her.

Sharpay took this opportunity, while she knew she had Troy's attention, to say, "You know, there's something Gabriella said earlier today that has really been bothering me." Troy looked up from the floor and made eye contact with her and Sharpay took that as an invitation to continue talking. "Did she mean what I think she meant when she was talking about putting out?"

Troy—no surprise—didn't respond. But the way he quickly looked away from her and uncomfortably shifted in his place seemed to good enough answer for Sharpay.

So, Gabriella _had_ put out. With _Troy_.

Sharpay suddenly had a knot in throat and found it hard to speak. "Why? I mean, if you wanted to— I would've…" She struggled to finish her sentences.

"Oh god," Troy said, sounding thoroughly distressed. It seems that his oath to silence had just officially been broken. Sharpay would've been jumping for joy at the sound of his voice, if it weren't for the reality of the conversation they were having.

"Oh god, what?" she choked out, still having trouble speaking.

"Oh god… you think I'm a horndog. It didn't happen the way you think it did," Troy was saying, even though he wasn't seemed to be talking more to himself than to Sharpay. He wasn't even looking at her. "It was Gabriella. She… she sort of forced me."

Sharpay took a dramatic pause, before she answered. Or maybe it wasn't a dramatic pause, maybe she was still waiting for the knot in her throat to go away. "What do you mean she _forced_ you? You could've said no."

"I did. But she wouldn't leave me alone. And you know, I was still upset about you dumping me—"

She stared at him in disbelief, "I _cannot_ believe you're blaming this on me."

Troy looked at her, like he was confused. "I'm not blaming you. Aren't you paying attention? I'm blaming Gabriella."

Maybe it was she was still upset with him for sleeping with Gabriella, but Sharpay suddenly snapped at him and said, "Why don't you try blaming yourself, for once?"

Troy seemed—as anyone would—shocked at this outburst. "Blame myself? _For what? _What have _I _done wrong? Some of us are just victims in this situation. And by some of us, I mean _me_."

"And how are you a victim?" Sharpay asked.

"I've been the victim of your and Gabriella's flagrant hatred towards each other," he said. When Sharpay looked lost, he continued. "My two best friends hate each other... you don't see how this affects me?"

"Well, it's your fault we hate each other."

"What are you saying? I didn't _tell_ you guys to hate each other. You did that on your own."

"I'm saying that if neither of us had ever met you, the chances of us hating each other would have been much slimmer. Because, you know, most feuds between girls are caused by a human of the male persuasion. And in this case, that would be you," Sharpay explained.

"So you're saying," Troy had, once again, looked away from her. "that you wish you'd never met me."

"What?" Sharpay squealed. "When did I say that?"

"Because I'll just leave, if you want," he continued on, ignoring her questions.

"Leave? Leave where?" Sharpay was lost. What the heck was Troy talking about?

"Leave here. Leave East High. Leave Albuquerque."

"_What the hell, Troy? _Where is this coming from? You're not making any sense. Stop talking like you're in a soap opera," Sharpay said. Was it just her, or was Troy talking like he wanted to commit suicide?

"You're the one who said you and Gabriella would be happier if you'd never met me."

Sharpay shook her head. "That is _not_ what I said." Then, she quickly added, "And I order you not to commit suicide."

Troy looked alarmed at that statement. "I'm not killing myself, Shar. I'm just leaving."

"So, you're just gonna leave? Possibly even drop out of school? Just because you supposedly feel victimized? You expect your parents to be okay with this?"

"I'm not planning on telling them," Troy answered, quietly.

"Well. What _are _you planning on doing? If you leave, where do you even think you're going?"

"I don't know yet, Shar," he said, sounding exasperated. Sharpay was wearing him out with all these questions.

"You don't know? How can you _not_ know? And how long have you been thinking about this? This 'leaving' thing? And when were you planning on telling me, because from the way you're talking, it sounds like you've already packed?" Sharpay asked.

"What do you mean by when was I planning on telling you? I _just_ told you," he said, flatly.

"But it's— You don't understand, Troy. You can't leave me… _I love you_." Sharpay wasn't sure if this was her first time ever saying this to him, but one thing's for sure, she'd never meant those three words more in her life than she had at that very moment.

Troy didn't show much reaction to she had said. He didn't say 'I love you too', the way Sharpay had so dreamed he would. In fact, all he answered with was: "If you love someone, let them go."

Sharpay blinked and tried, unsuccessfully, to hold back tears. "Troy. What is that even supposed to mean? Are you saying that you love me, so you have to let me go? Or that _I _have to let _you_ go? Why do we have to let each other go _at all_?"

"Sharpay, you're making this more difficult it needs to be," Troy said, standing up from the staircase. Sharpay stood up, also, not like how much higher up from her was, when she was sitting and he was standing. "Can't we just say goodbye and move on?"

Sharpay stared at him in bewilderment, but didn't say anything else. She was positive that if she even attempt opened her mouth again, she would start screaming. And screaming probably wouldn't be the best thing for to right now. For one, it would most likely scare Troy away. And two, they were in the school hallway and classes were still going on.

"I'm really going to miss you, Sharpay," Troy started, when he realized that Sharpay was going to respond. "but I still think I should leave. I've screwed your life up enough. And before I go, I want you to know that I—"

Before Troy could finish what he was going to say, the school bell rang, and the previously empty hallway was suddenly filled with students. Buzzing throughout the hallways and slamming their lockers incessantly, none of them seeming to care that they had just ruined what could be called a particularly intimate moment between Troy and Sharpay.

Sharpay silently cursed the people who flooded the halls, for destroying her blissful moment. Troy was going to tell her that he loved her, wasn't he? He was going to say, _"Before I go, I want you to know that I love you." _That's what he was going to say; Sharpay was absolutely sure of it.

But he didn't get his chance to say it and Sharpay was deprived of her chance to hear it, for when the bell rang, Troy bolted off in the other direction. Possibly in pursuit to tell Gabriella what he had told Sharpay about his plan to leave. Or maybe even in pursuit to _avoid_ Gabriella, so he _wouldn't_ have to tell her about his plan to leave. Either way, he was gone.

And it didn't register into Sharpay's mind, until moments after he was gone, that that was possibly the last time she'd ever see him.

_

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_

_Wow. I ended this story on a real downer, didn't I? Sorry about that. But I couldn't end this story with a happy ending, it was just impossible for me. It seemed too unrealistic. I mean, this 'semi-suicidal' Troy may seem somewhat unrealistic as well, but… oh well. It's too late to change anything now._

_And did you notice how I finally somewhat worked the title into the story? Troy says he's "just [a victim] in this situation__." Yay! ;D_

_Major thanks to everyone who read this story! I LOVE YOU ALL ;D _

_This was my first time ever even attempting to write a story, and I can't believe it's over. I also can't believe that so many people liked it & that I got __**over**__ 100 reviews. Seriously, I'm still in shock [:_

_And one more thing, before I hang up my pen—metaphorically, of course—and say goodbye to this story forever. I'd like to know whether or not, you (the readers) think it's a good idea if I make a sequel. Or should I just leave at this? Because I know I ended this on a major cliffhanger, and you may or may not want to know what happens next. I already know what's going to happen in the sequel, if I write one. So yeah, if and when you review tell me what you think._


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